← Return to Follicular Lymphoma: looking to connect with others

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@jessica0

Hello @caracello22,
I have been receiving immunotherapy for the last five years going on six & been doing much better year to year. I was diagnosed three weeks after I had my beautiful daughter & my wonderful son was only one at the time. There were lots of bumps along the way but my children were what kept me distracted and driven. My goal was to get back to caring for them like I always saw & dreamed about. When they were little they just didn’t understand that mommy had cancer & it was a normal thing to have their grandparents around who helped us tremendously. Now my daughter turns 6 next month & my son is seven so we now have had a lot more conversations about mommy’s cancer. Actually the first conversation started very organically because my son said that their fun run fundraiser at school was started because a student there had cancer. I told him that mommy knew her and her family because we had to do our cancer treatments together sometimes. He then stoped and said “wait, you have cancer”? He was of course shocked & my daughter & him had lots of questions. They now can see cancer differently though because our family has fully transitioned back to normal while I am still taking my immunotherapy. What they would expect from a mom I am able to do now independently. I enjoy taking back my motherhood duties that I fought so hard to have back. Evan though the days are long I still enjoy dealing with the everyday problems much more than any cancer related issues. When I have to deal with the cancer issues I have a wonderful family support system behind me and my doctor and nurses know me very well.
My best advice is to ask for the help with raising your family. My in laws went above & beyond their grandparent duties and our whole family was able to rebound off of it. My kids now have an extremely close bond with their grandparents too since they were so helpful through it all. I hope what I shared somehow helps you with your situation.

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Replies to "Hello @caracello22, I have been receiving immunotherapy for the last five years going on six &..."

What a great post, @jessica0. I know @caracello22 will appreciate it.

My favorite line from your post is "I enjoy taking back my motherhood duties that I fought so hard to have back."

I can't imagine how you must have felt being diagnosed just after giving birth. Thank you, jessica0, for your long and detailed reply. I put off responding until I had time and energy to put into a response. Well, that turned out to be a mistake lol. If I lived anywhere near my family, they would be more than willing to help, but they live on the other side of the world. My husband's family generally keep to themselves. We call upon his mother sometimes to babysit, but she's 74 and has gotten to the point where she's forgetful and doesn't have the energy to look after our very active 2 year old. My husband has just started a new job where the commute is an hour each way, so most of the housework, all the meals, and care of the little one (while he's not in daycare) is on me. I'm also up a couple times every night with the little guy to take him to the bathroom. I am exhausted, and also quite surprised at how well I've been able to pull through considering I have cancer. My husband has been sick for over a week, but not me. I frankly don't know how long I can go on like this, but I guess we moms of young ones find extra energy reserves when we need to? This mama is exhausted. I wish I had a strong support network, but I just don't. My son keeps me energized and focused. It's amazing how easily he can make me forget anything is wrong.