Finding Out Your Dad Has Cancer

It's a Wednesday afternoon, all is well. Me and "the beau" had made plans for the upcoming Friday. We were going to see our local hockey team play. And we did go, but before that, something happened.

I get a text after school saying, "You need to come to the house on Friday", it's from my dad. I agree and tell him I'll be there after school. I was curious though. Why did he want me to come up all of a sudden? There couldn't be anything wrong, could there? My mind raced of what could possibly be the problem, or if there was one.

Maybe I did something bad? I'm a good kid just sometimes I do some things that aren't the greatest..

Anyways, Thursday rolls around and I skipped my basketball practice to stay home and binge Netflix. I know, I complained in one of my journals how I would never get to play provincials but here I am skipping it. I can because there was no such thing as Covid-19 then.

I text my youngest brother, bored out of my mind, and ask him if he knows about Friday. He lives with my dad so I figured he would. And he did, but he wouldn't tell me.

I kept on persistantly asking him, wanting to know what was on the go, because I had a feeling it wasn't good. I begged him, telling him I was my father's first born and if anyone should know, it would be me.

He eventually gave in. He told me, "you can't tell anyone I told you", and I said I wouldn't. So he told me what it was.

Dad has cancer.

I was in the bathroom, leaning against the sink. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and saying "why" over and over again. Why would this happen to us? How could it happen? My dad was still half young, how could this have happened?

I cried myself to sleep that night.

The next day dragged on, waiting for the conversation that I dreaded, the conversation that would make it true. I feared for my other brother though, the middle child. He didn't take sad things well.

I pull up to their house, my boyfriend in the front, and my brother in the back. I tell my boyfriend he can wait in the car. He already knew, I told him.

We enter the house. Sitting on the couch, my father talks. All I can do is stare at the ground as I try to process what's going on. How our lives will change because of it. My brother started to cry so my father pulled us into a group hug. I was a mess.

After that, my dad invited my boyfriend into the house, and we talked about everything that just happened. He sat there, not knowing what to say. I mean, who would? A bunch of other family members cam over shortly after and discussed the matter.

A couple hours later, my boyfriend and I left to go to the hockey game. We had a good night. He said we didn't have to go if I wasn't feeling up to it but I just wanted something to take my mind off of everything. I guess it helped in a sense.

My father still lives with cancer but is doing well. It's not easy telling people someone in your family has cancer, it's almost as they look at you with pity in their eyes, like you're some sad person 24/7.

It wasn't easy at first, but I'm glad I am surrounded by loving family and friends. If I didn't have them I'm not sure where I would be right now.

Thank you for listening to my story. There's really nothing important about it but thank you.