Effects of Cancer on a Sibling

The Effects of Cancer on Siblings

For every hundred children who receive a cancer, hundreds more siblings will begin a battle through cancer a well. Cancer does not discriminate and affects every person in the family. Often times the siblings of the children who have been diagnosed with cancer are hurt, confused, and effected during the journey. Emma’s life changed on October 11th, 2010. She was pulled out of school, gym, play dates and could no longer play with her friends. While Chase was on chemotherapy our family had to be in isolation for months so that we would not transfer a virus to Chase that would send him in the hospital.

We traveled every week, sometimes several times a week to Phoenix for doctors appointments, blood tests and blood transfusions. Every month Chase would go into the hospital for 4 days to receive chemo, with travel time this would amount to 6 or 7 days of time in the hospital, at Ronald McDonald House or in a hotel room for Emma. Once Chase finished his chemotherapy in 2011 Emma had her life uprooted yet again to move to Houston for Chase’s radiation treatment. Our family motto was “4 in 4 out”. We were going into this as a family of 4 and we were going to win a family of 4.

In July 2013 Chase relapsed and Emma was 6 years old. This time Emma could not travel for Chase’s treatment because she is in 1st grade and can no longer miss school. She stays in Tucson with her daddy most days in order to attend school while mommy is in Phoenix with Chase for treatment. Chase is in the hospital for months at a time, only being released for a few days before he has to be readmitted. Mommy tries to go back to Tucson as much as she can however, Emma misses having her family together. She misses her brother desperately and constantly awaits his arrival back home.