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Childhood Cancer - did you know?

12 replies

mears · 07/01/2004 00:52

That 2000 children a year are treated with cancer in Glasgow alone? I posted a while back about DS's friend who has osteosarcoma at the age of 15 years. The unit he is in treats that number of children every year. He has has 2 cycles of chemotherapy and is scheduled to have the tumour removed from his knee in 3 weeks time. He has lost all his hair and has also lost loads of weight. He now has a nasogastric tube so that he can be fed overnight to try and increase his weight prior to surgery. I didn't realise how many children get cancer and the fruitloops thread really was heatrbreaking. I cannot begin to know how DS's parents mange to cope but they do, just like thousands of parents throughout the country. Just felt the need to post on his progress.

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Festivefly · 07/01/2004 02:08

I met a girl in the play ground when i was 4 she was very pretty, i loved her from the begining. Time passed and i realised the reason i knew her was because our parents did. I will call her A. We played constantly.
My next memory is about seven, we were playing in the local park and she ran about and told me she was going to have a wee under the slide. All of a sudden she did, i thought this was wild and i could never do that infront of boys, she had a handle on them and made me feel like i wasn't as exciting as her. The boys loved her.
She started brownies and invited me to a party, i remember going, i had a relax t-shirt on a pink telephone wire as a belt, we put on lipstick in the toilet and got really cocky, they chucked us out.
Next, she was in a wheel chair, it happened all of a suuden. I didn't get it at the time. She went away to hospital
I went to see her and i remember the room it was like a gym, they had straps on her legs, and i was looking at her while they pulled her legs to pieces trying to make her walk again, she was in pain and i didn't know what to do.
High school, things moved on, she or her family decided that she would be joining my school. I got asked if i could possibly push a girl round in a wheel chair, if i was that caring , for fucks sake!!!!!!! We were happy i did push her around, but i tell you what, she was helping me more. I got lots of ooooh you good girl, and she got an award for being handicapped. We were mad. In third year we split off and fell out, i had better friends and so did she . We stopped talking, i was sick of her veg bollocks and she was sick of my silly mates.
We went to 6th form and even though i didn't "push" her anymore we were good friends
It all changed when we were older, we went out on new years eve because we really started again
She met her husband the night we went out

Then after years of an adult relationship, the bastard cancer came back. I spent every week on her bed, she held my baby when he was little, there is loads more to say but i've already gone on too much.
I went out and when i got back x said ring your mum. I did , she said get here now, when i got there she was dead. My dad was at the door and he said nothing, he had tears in his eyes.
I went into the room where she was and spent all night with her, i actually got pissed and held her body all night, i stroked her face, held her hand and kissed her, in the morning i knew it couldn't last. She had turned into a corpse and i had to let her go

fio2 · 07/01/2004 09:07

mears i hope your sons friend gets better, it must be so hard for his family

FF

it is horrible, my sister used to be in B'ham childrens with alot of cancer patients, as she couldnt get infections either - so they tended to put cancer and CF patients together. It was always so sad. It makes you wonder how they cope as children with such devasting illness. I would be scared now let alone as a child with cancer. My friend developed leukeamia but unfortunatly died a couple of years ago, she was 23 - it was so sad, such a shock. She was one of these people who was never ill aswell - you would never have expected it to be her

mears · 07/01/2004 09:48

How sad festivefly and fio2. We are all just praying that the treatment will be successful. It is hard for my DS too to see his friend go through it all. It is a rapid way to grow up though. I am so impressed at how caring my DS is when usually I am moaning about how lazy he can be.

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Festivefly · 07/01/2004 11:02

Mears i didn't mean to ignore your situation, so so sorry for being rude. I think i was just using this thread as some sort of therapy last night. I thought it might help to see the point of view of a friend. I really wish your son strength to deal with this, thanks for posting on his friends progress. It must be terribly difficult for you to see him going through this, and of course best wishes to the boys parents.

mears · 07/01/2004 11:26

I didn't find your post rude at all festivefly - quite the opposite. I feel selfish being concerned about my DS because he is not the one with the cancer. Your post made me realise that I am right to be concerned about DS - this is going to have a huge impact on his life. Thanks for your post, sad though it may be. It made me actually feel better that my concern is legitimate.

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suedonim · 07/01/2004 13:04

Thnak you, Mears, for updating us on your ds's friend's progress. My mum told me that sadly her friend's 12 yo grandson has had leukaemia since last March. He is doing well, thank goodness. Worryingly, his parents farm near Killin and until two years ago were unable to sell any of their lambs due to contamination from Chernobyl. I guess they will never be able to prove a link, but.....

FF I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. We've also lost friends to cancer; it's everyone's worst nightmare, isn't it.

Luckymum · 07/01/2004 16:37

FF, so sorry about your friend.

Mears, I too didn't realise just how many children get cancer. A friend of mine has a 7 year old who has just finished treatment after getting leukaemia for the second time...if it comes back she will need a bone marrow transplant.

Can I just use this post in a positive way to ask that anyone who can give blood does so and also ask if you can join the bone marrow register - its just another short form and a bit more blood. Thanks

mears · 07/01/2004 16:45

My Dh and I are both on the bone marrow register. He couldn't fit the time in to go to the doctors to get his blood sample taken so I did it (they send you the sample bottle etc. and I am a midwife for those who don't know). What a wimp he was - he thought I might accidentally kill him with air! Definately worthwhile to be a donor.

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Clarinet60 · 07/01/2004 22:16

Festivefly, hugs.xxxxxx

jasper · 07/01/2004 23:53

mears I hope this is not insensitive on this thread to say that you made me smile with that mental image of you taking blood from your quivering dh

fio2 · 07/01/2004 23:56

yes everyone carry a donor card give blood and go on the bone marrow regiter my friend had to have her bone marrow transplant from USA, i am sure people in this country would have had a match - doesnt seem encouraged though.

mears · 08/01/2004 00:25

Not insensitive at all Jasper

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