This is Cancer

Today is World Cancer Day. Cancer is very personal to us now after David battled the Beast called Stage Four Wilm's Tumor.

We were blessed with amazing care from awesome and compassionate people. I remember asking the oncologist "Are you trying to tell me that my baby has cancer" and she sweetly nodded her head yes. Cancer plays dirty and sneaks up on our sweet and innocent children.

Cancer causes physical pain and suffering to the victims and emotional pain to the family and caregivers. I am a different person now than I was before David was diagnosed. I have been diagnosed with PTSD as a result of David's diagnosis due to the high anxiety and intense nightmares I suffered during and after his treatment. Cancer tries so hard to steal your peace. No longer is David allowed to be sleepy, tired, or even have a headache without me as the Mommy thinking he has relapsed. Cancer tries to steal our peace, thankfully for us we have Jesus who is the Prince of Peace!

Cancer treatment scarred our sweet baby's body. He has a scar across his abdomen and a scar on is chest from his port. David endured painful port accesses, lab draws, GCFS shots, all on top of his chemo and radiation regimen.

Sadly to stop the Beast called childhood cancer we had to pump him full of poisons (like this "red devil" drug) that is KNOWN to cause heart problems and even death for children. We held our baby while he threw up after chemo, lost his hair, wiped his bottom from the most painful diarehha caused by abdominal radiation. It was the most miserable eight months of our lives.

God bless David and all the childhood cancer warriors who fight the good fight. I LOVE this picture of David because as you can see he is bald, skinny, pale, and he was showing us some spunk and fight. I remember taking this picture because he insisted on another movie during the eight hour marathon of lab draw, checkup, and finally chemo, and he unplugged his own IV pole and took off down the hall! It was very sassy of him but as his Mom I could not have been prouder! That same spunk (and Jesus) was what got him through the HELL called cancer treatment!

I am sorry if these pictures are graphic and hard to look at. Believe me when I say that I have bawled over these pictures many times. Often childhood cancer pictures are beautiful children smiling with gorgeous bald heads. When David was bald, I too took a million pictures because he was goegeous, but there is this graphic and painful side to childhood cancer when NO ONE is smiling. Happy World Cancer Day! Spread the love for our childhood cancer warriors! Check out this link to learn more and get involved in the fight for David and all the other children that have had to battle this mean Goliath.
http://www.thetruth365.org/