Today we chat with Rose Marie and her two incredible sisters Lisa and Tonia about caring for her while she cares for her son during his cancer treatment. Rose Marie’s 16yr old son was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in December 2023, which means they are still in very active treatment. Her son’s tumour was on his lower right tibia and, despite Rose Marie researching and trying everything under the sun to prevent it (and I mean everything) his lower right leg had to be amputated.

This conversation really made me see caregiving in a whole different way. For the first time it was so clear how MUCH our family, sisters, brothers, parents, not only WANT to help, but that it brings them endless joy and a feeling of genuine purpose when we allow them to. So often as parents going through this we aren’t even thinking about ourselves, our needs, if we’ve eaten or showered or changed our clothes - and we have such a hard time accepting help because we forget that we even exist. All eyes are on our child and what they need, so it feels counter intuitive to accept any help for ourselves. It was so beautiful to hear how desperate Rose Marie's sisters are to help HER. Yes, of course her son too, but they want to carry Rose Marie while she carries her son.

Please share this episode with your family, your siblings, your circle. There are some expletives in this episode, Rose Marie and her sisters are passionate and very comfortable, as they should be, so just a heads up there is cursing throughout. If you’d like a cleaned up version of our chat, just send a message to thedeepc@gmail.com and we'll send one your way.

So, let's dive deep with Rose Marie, Lisa and Tonia.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kayleigh Kennedy is a cancer mom, mindset coach and the powerhouse behind Limitless Coaching where she helps clients break free from their limitations and unlock their full potential by giving them tools and practices to get them “unstuck” - but how do we apply the same tools to our kids' cancer diagnosis?

The answer is GRATITUDE. Yes, finding things to be grateful for with a cancer diagnosis, as counter intuitive and impossible that might seem. If the idea of finding things to be grateful for is a hard pill to swallow (like it definitely was for me) then let Kayleigh help to explain it. The power in shifting our mindset from a dark and scary place to a place where we have opportunity to grow and strengthen is a way we can show ourselves love and support during the really scary and impossible moments of our kids' treatment.

Kayleigh is PROOF that we can apply simple practices to getting through this dark place in tact, and that no matter how much effort it takes us to find some light down here, it takes way more effort to stay in the dark.

Kayleigh can be found on instagram @thekayleighkennedy or hello@kayleighkennedy.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jess will tell you she draws all her strength from her daughter Addy. In our conversation, Jess shares how Addy's force and unstoppable energy impacted everyone in her life, and continues to be shared today.

When Addy was 13 she was diagnosed with angiosarcoma, a very rare cancer, especially in children. Addy went through nine months of treatment and passed two days after her 14th birthday. During her treatment, Addy centred her focus on helping other kids, asking Jess to start raising funds and awareness for kids just like her.

Jess committed to following through on Addy’s wishes, starting Team Addy that, since March 2022, has raised $387,000 for sarcoma research. They’ve held 2 annual Family Fun Day events, as well as a “Concert with Addy-tude” and many, many community and 3rd party events and initiatives from their “army”.

A beautiful documentary called Team Addy was produced by the Ontario Basketball Association where you will meet Addy’s family and coaches and start to get what I’m talking about when I say there is FORCE and energy and love that surrounds Jess and everyone in Addy’s world.

And if you know Sick Kids Hospital, you likely know of their most recent initiative Precision Child Health that is changing the game in paediatric care - and this massive new campaign was launched with a crystal ball that is inspired by Addy and a conversation she had with her brilliant oncologist Dr Malkin that you’ll hear Jess share in our chat.

Jess has found a way to channel her love for Addy into a strength and purpose, and with that kind of love behind her, she’s unstoppable.

https://www.teamaddy.ca/

https://www.teamaddy.ca/events/family-fun-day

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachelle’s daughter was originally diagnosed with Wilms at 16 months old, and then relapsed at 3 years old in a new city without the family and support system they’d had for her daughter’s initial treatment.

Rachelle candidly and honestly talks about the need to “claw” together a community of cancer parents to help them survive her daughter’s treatment. We talk about connections, finding comfort in other oncology parents, and how it feels when a bereaved parent supports families of NED kids, and the complicated emotions that come up of comparative suffering and survivors guilt.

This conversation spans different topics that will all sound familiar to oncology parents, not necessarily because you’ve had them out loud before, but because you’ve thought and felt every single word - and that’s what makes Rachelle and her deep insights and take away’s so valuable and important to hear.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Taryn's daughter June was 8 months old, she was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. After an aggressive treatment of chemo, surgery, tandem stem cell transplants and radiation, June passed at 18 months old. Just over two years later, Taryn shares all the ways June cracked her open and how being June's mom helped her discover her purpose, and reconnect with her identity through poetry and writing.

Taryn shares her magnificent poem A Good Mother from her blog Carrying June where you'll also find brilliant and beautiful reflections on life after loss, childhood cancer, and motherhood.

https://carryingjune.com/

https://carryingjune.com/blog-1-2/z7o08aqqcsyltbyrin5xqcsakboprg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave and Kristy Costa lost their only child Lacey to pediatric melanoma less than two years ago. In our conversation, they share what it was like to be parents in the cancer community with such a rare diagnosis, and how the framework for Lacey's treatment didn't follow typical cancer treatment, leaving them to chart their own course from the very beginning.

Dave and Kristy go deep into their reflections of carrying Lacey through her treatment, and generously share their honest and real account of what they thought, and what they felt - every step of the way. We discuss the language around childhood cancer and what words like "hope" and "miracles" feel like when you're on the flipside and your child doesn't get their "miracle" - does that mean they were less deserving? We talk about landmines and how simple tasks like making dinner or seeing a back to school display can be paralyzing, and perhaps the most profound question we've heard on this podcast to date from a bereaved parent - am I still a mother?

Every single word from Dave and Kristy is unforgettable and will leave you feeling seen, supported and stronger than before thanks to their willingness to go deep into the places we've all been, but may not have the words to describe. Dave and Kristy do it for us.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Traversing the oncology parent landscape can be a very lonely and isolating experience. Most of our family and friends can’t relate, and explaining this place to them is exhausting and can make us feel even more removed from the lives we once knew. But if we look around the hospital waiting rooms and hallways, the little kitchenettes and playrooms, chances are pretty high that we’re surrounded by other parents who feel the exact same way. Yes, we’re exhausted, and the idea of making new friends isn’t anywhere close to what we’re here for, but it’s amazing what can happen when we make the connection with another medical parent because it turns out, we have the power to save each other.

Laura McNabb, a fellow oncology mom and I met in a radiation centre lobby while our kids were both receiving treatment, and within an instant, we bonded and lifted each other up by sharing our experience and just KNOWING the other knew what this all felt like.

Our conversation today is just like listening to two old friends talk about the places they’ve been and the memories they have, except the places are kids cancer hospitals and the memories are of ringing bells and being petrified of post treatment scans - you know, the normal stuff that only oncology parents can relate to.

So get cozy, even if you’re in one of those terrible plastic waiting room chairs (we’re so sorry you’re there, we know they suck) and listen to your two friends Sam and Laura chat about the stuff you can’t bring up at dinner parties or soccer practice. We get it, we know how you feel, and you’re never, ever alone - not when you're with us 💛

Laura's Blog https://www.fromlandtoc.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The transition from parent to oncology parent is fast, it’s sudden, and within seconds we’re thrown into a landmine of medical terminology that feels like it's exploding all around us. Words we’ve never heard, let alone can pronounce, are being referenced to our child and their survival. We’re given treatment plans and chemo protocols, radiation doses, surgical procedures, an entire book of meds from the pharmacy - every word so long, with so many syllables and acronyms, and we have to know what they all mean RIGHT NOW. Sometimes there’s a social worker or a really lovely nurse who will act as your translator, but more often than not, you are in a foreign country, you don’t speak the language, and you’re fighting for your child’s life.

And that’s exactly what happened to Audrey when her 16month old son Levi was diagnosed with an ependymoma. She was suddenly immersed in this new language - a language that is terrifying and heavy and full of questions. SO many questions. And so like all of us, Audrey looked to her doctors to translate, to explain and to educate her on all the different outcomes her son could face - Audrey deserved to know all the words, even the hardest and most painful ones a human being can hear- words like, end of life. Audrey deserved to have these words spoken to her, especially before they had already begun.

Audrey knows her story centres on a rare side effect called radiation necrosis, and she knows what happened to Levi is uncommon, but she also knows that’s why their story needs to be told.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.