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My dad has cancer when I was 12...

I’m now 17, he’s alive and well but sometimes I think about it, almost as if it hadn’t happened and I’m in disbelief, I struggle to get my head around the fact that my dad, my dad had cancer, a tumour in his neck that he noticed while shaving one morning. I remember being picked up by my grandma and waiting for my parents to come home from hospital. I had no clue. My sister was 9. Then when they finally told me it’s like I couldn’t process it, they just said your dad has non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that’s a cancer” it was almost stage 3 when they caught it, he was lucky, I know people who weren’t so lucky and sometimes I feel guilty for grieving and being so open about it because he’s still here and he’s fine. But it was still traumatising I guess, I’ve seen pictures of him during his chemotherapy and he looked like a ghost, he had no hair and that was one of his distinctive features, I remember him throwing up after his first session of chemo and I remember the day that he told me he was all clear. The type of cancer he had was an aggressive type, so when he started his treatment, the cancer wreaked havoc and did everything to fight back. The treatment lasted for 6 months, just weeks before his last treatment, my grandad died without knowing if my dad got better. There is nothing to grieve because my dad is still here and he’s fine, I just think about it some times, look back 4 years ago and think...bloody hell, that was awful. I have friends who lost parents from cancer, that’s why I feel guilty for being open about it. You understand right?
Original post by 123GRace321
I’m now 17, he’s alive and well but sometimes I think about it, almost as if it hadn’t happened and I’m in disbelief, I struggle to get my head around the fact that my dad, my dad had cancer, a tumour in his neck that he noticed while shaving one morning. I remember being picked up by my grandma and waiting for my parents to come home from hospital. I had no clue. My sister was 9. Then when they finally told me it’s like I couldn’t process it, they just said your dad has non Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that’s a cancer” it was almost stage 3 when they caught it, he was lucky, I know people who weren’t so lucky and sometimes I feel guilty for grieving and being so open about it because he’s still here and he’s fine. But it was still traumatising I guess, I’ve seen pictures of him during his chemotherapy and he looked like a ghost, he had no hair and that was one of his distinctive features, I remember him throwing up after his first session of chemo and I remember the day that he told me he was all clear. The type of cancer he had was an aggressive type, so when he started his treatment, the cancer wreaked havoc and did everything to fight back. The treatment lasted for 6 months, just weeks before his last treatment, my grandad died without knowing if my dad got better. There is nothing to grieve because my dad is still here and he’s fine, I just think about it some times, look back 4 years ago and think...bloody hell, that was awful. I have friends who lost parents from cancer, that’s why I feel guilty for being open about it. You understand right?


you should be soooooo thankful to have your dad alive and tell him how much you love him and all i know the traumastism that you should have experienced but he is HERE. That's justt awesoome.
And tell your dad that he is a WARRIOR.
Reply 2
Cancer affects everyone, whether you have it yourt self or are close to someone that does. Macmillan provides some advice for relatives:
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/supporting-someone/emotional-support-for-family-and-friends/your-feelings-when-someone-has-cancer

They also operate a careline that relatives can use to discuss their feelings and to get advice:

Macmillan Cancer Relief Cancerline: 0808 808 0000, www.macmillan.org.uk - Support, care and practical and emotional support for people living with cancer including families, friends, carers.

Remember, your feelings are perfectly normal. Take some time to speak to someone about your feelings.
Take care and stay safe
Reply 3
I think it's quite normal to go back and think about traumatic things like a cancer diagnosis of a loved one. I would encourage you to seek help though, it can be helped and the guilt associated with it can be managed. I would argue that there is something to grieve as well, your innocence to how fragile life is. You lost your grandad and your dad was going through something very serious, you were traumatised - you don't have to lose people to feel traumatised by a situation when it's related to someone close to you. No one deserves to deal with that all at once and as a child you don't necessarily have the coping skills to manage it. That's just my opinion though.

For what it's worth, when my mum had cancer I felt similarly, like I was glad they caught it early as it was aggressive, but I felt bad I wasn't there for her as much as I could've been (I was away at university and was dealing with some unrelated grief due to the suicide of one of my best friends). She said I was there for her, but I feel guilty regardless, because I felt I didn't do enough. Anyway, this sort of thing isn't uncommon amongst people who are watching their loved ones battle cancer. Talk to someone about it, you'll feel better. My PM is open if you want to talk. Take care.

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