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Becoming a Cancer Mom

The Life of a Mom of a Cancer Patient

By Jessica PhillipsPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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Let’s face it: being a mom is hard. Whether you are a working mom or a stay at home mom, it’s hard. Five years ago I took on this task and gave birth to my first born: eight pounds, fifteen ounces. Healthy baby boy. For three years, I worked little jobs, but nothing serious. Then we got pregnant with our second, and I became a full time, stay at home mom. Awesome right?! It was. Then, March 13, 2017, our lives changed forever.

“Your son has a tumor on his kidney. We think it could be Wilms Tumor. We are sending you to a children’s hospital.”

That’s it. Nothing more. That’s all the doctor informed me of. Thank God I knew the MRI technician and she came in to explain some more before I went crazy on Google. (As a mom, don’t do that!)

“Wilms Tumor is a form of kidney cancer most common in children. But it’s one of the most treatable. You are going to a good hospital. The mortality rate is high. You’ve got this.”

Mortality rate?! My child is four, and you are talking to me about a mortality rate?! What the hell? I can’t do this. What am I going to do? I have a whole other child at home. We are in the process of moving. What does this mean?!

So, I made the proper phone calls. I got his dad home from work. I got us a driver to the hospital. I got directions. We waited to be discharged so we could go home and pack a bag. I’m super glad I wasn’t driving; my eyes were so full of tears, we would have wrecked before we got home.

Bags packed, we headed to Norton’s Children’s Hospital. We arrive and it’s like any other hospital check in. My eyes were still red from crying. My husband and I currently weren’t speaking because I didn’t know what to say. I had seen cancer up close. I had dealt with it. It wasn’t good. So we get to our room and meet a handful of doctors. My husband comes from a big family, and they all came to see what was happening, so the room was full of people. As we lay in that hospital bed with our son, I call my babysitter about my youngest, who had a dentist appointment in three days.

I began to cry for a whole other reason. What am I going to do? How can I do this? My child is only one-year-old and I’m missing his dentist appoint because of stupid cancer. Why us? Why now? How?

Little did I know, that all would be answered in just nine long months!

Mommas, I know it’s hard. If you have a little one with cancer, my heart goes to you. But I also feel you if you don’t! Like I said, mommin’ is hard. It takes an army and we are just one person! Moms are strong! But who else is going to do it?!

Stay tuned for more!

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