Suddenly my otherwise healthy, fit, non drinking, regular gym going hubby has been diagnosed with Glioblastoma ( brain tumour in his Thalamus) and he has been told he has 12 months to live even with the radiation and chemo treatment he will start soon.We have a 13 year old son and an almost 15 year old son. We have been together and best friends for 27 years and will ( hopefully) celebrate our 18th year of marriage in November.what should I expect on this unwanted and terrifying journey of watching him die from Glioblastoma? How do I support my teenagers?our whole life has changed in just three weeks... 😢

My partner has cancer

My husband, aged 45 yrs, had just been diagnosed with Glioblastoma

My partner died from cancer

My child died from cancer

My partner survived cancer

My child survived cancer

I survived cancer

My child has cancer

I am a parent with cancer

My Story

4th of may 2020. I kissed goodbye my best friend, my dad after his long but short exit with every cancer possible. I can not stress enoigh how hard this has been on my family and especially me. I'm his little girl, we look identical. Act identical. His gone, I'm not it's so fucking unfair.

Daddys girl

When Cancer Won't Go Away

Hello..my name is Patrick. Rachael was my best friend and I miss her madly. Our children miss her too. Rachael was diagnosed with endometrial cancer April 9 2018. In the early hours of July 16 2018, Rachael slipped away from us.we spent the night with her in the hospital. Our son had just turned 10 a few days earlier whilst our daughter was to turn 14 only days after her Mums funeral.I frequently ask myself.. is this the best you got?...step up man!.. finish crying and get back in the kitchen!!.. . But I am also reminded by kind and empathetic people, that I must be kind to myself. It really is necessary if healing is to begin. I must honour my beautiful friend with living well and not wasting time.. not missing opportunities that we are all sometimes blind too. I feel this tragedy has opened my eyes given me more clarity to what is real, to what I value.This has not always been the case as we have moved through this grief and trauma. How can it ever be easy.. what to say when the end feels near? Not only to each other.. but to your kids? You at home with the kids.. her in a hospital bed..night after night. Apart from it being terribly sad, I feel so very privileged to have been present in Rachael’s life journey.. we met on an adventure in lands far away...best of friends we became...and a rich life we led.. Rachael’s love-I believed 💖🙏

Keeping it Real

Grief & Bereavement

Welcome to the CanTeen Connect Parent Forums. Tell us about yourself. :)

Introduce Yourself!

Everyday Life

Parents who have parented a teenager through a parental cancer experience are invited to share some of their family’s experience by participating in a confidential interview (Zoom or phone). They study is examining what was helpful and not helpful for them as parents as they assessed the need for support for their children, and engage with support if they choose to do so. The study hopes to increase the available knowledge on experiences of families impacted by parental cancer and facilitate improvements in providing them support. If you are interested and want more information please email angie.elder@canteen.org.au

Parenting Teenagers through Parental Cancer

Research

Hi everyone! ☺️ My name is Fran. I recently joined Canteen as the Online Community Coordinator. I'm responsible for helping you get the most out of Canteen Connect.
 
Since I'm new, I'd really love to hear from you. 
 
What do you want to see more of? Personal stories? Information? Events?
Do you want to find and connect with parents in the same situation?
Do you need support? Coping strategies? Counselling?

If you want to share your thoughts privately, you can email online@canteen.org.au

We'd love to hear from you

Once the school is aware of your diagnosis, you can speak with them about the following supports they can tap into to help not only your child, but other students who may also be in a similar position.&nbsp;Recommend programs and resources&nbsp;Depending on the age of your child, tell the school about the programs and resources available from&nbsp;Canteen&nbsp;and Camp Quality.&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li>Canteen&nbsp;can deliver a tailored information session to staff or students (depending on your location), covering the impact of cancer and how the school can support the student affected by cancer.&nbsp;Canteen&nbsp;also will send free resources to help friends and classmates better understand what your child is going through and how they can help.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;</li><li>For children in pre-school and primary school <a href="https://www.campquality.org.au/">Camp Quality&rsquo;s</a> free puppet shows explain cancer and treatment effects in their own language and encourage kids to be supportive of a classmate who has a mum, dad, brother or sister impacted by cancer. Schools can book&nbsp;directly&nbsp;or you can contact one of Camp Quality&rsquo;s Family Liaison Coordinators on 1300 665 605 to ask them to contact the school.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>More advice/support&nbsp;Chat with a&nbsp;Canteen&nbsp;counsellor (1800 835 932) who can give you more advice about how to approach the school and relevant programs/resources.&nbsp;Useful sites/resources&nbsp;Canteen&rsquo;s&nbsp;booklet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canteen.org.au/resource/cancer-affecting-students/">Cancer affecting your students? We can help you support them</a>&nbsp;details&nbsp;Canteen&rsquo;s&nbsp;programs and services to help schools support students who are affected by cancer.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

How You Can Help School Help Your Child When You Have Cancer

Supporting My Child

Coping with someone in the family having cancer is really challenging for many children and young people. Generally, with the right advice and support, you can support your child. But children/young people dealing with a parent&rsquo;s cancer are at high risk of psychological distress &ndash; so sometimes they may need professional help.&nbsp;Warning signs&nbsp;As a parent, it can be hard to&nbsp;know what&rsquo;s normal behaviour and what&rsquo;s a warning sign of a potential mental health issue.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sadness and worry are normal reactions&nbsp;for a child or young person&nbsp;when a parent has cancer.&nbsp;Particularly for teenagers, feeling&nbsp;down, tense, angry, anxious or&nbsp;disconnected&nbsp;are all normal emotions.&nbsp;But if these&nbsp;feelings seem overwhelming,&nbsp;persist&nbsp;for a long time and start to get in the way of their daily life,&nbsp;it could be depression or anxiety, and your child may need&nbsp;to talk to a professional.&nbsp;Warning signs that your child/young person may need professional help include any new and persistent changes (lasting more than one or two weeks), like:&nbsp;<ul><li>not enjoying, or not wanting to be involved in,&nbsp;things that they&nbsp;used to enjoy&nbsp;</li><li>not wanting to go to school&nbsp;</li><li>spending a lot of time alone and withdrawing from friends&nbsp;</li><li>changes in&nbsp;hygiene, eating habits,&nbsp;appetite or sleeping patterns&nbsp;</li><li>being easily irritated or angry for no reason&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>trouble concentrating or paying attention (e.g. their school grades dropping or&nbsp;performance at Uni/TAFE/work is not as good as it was)&nbsp;</li><li>risky behaviour that they would usually avoid, like taking drugs or drinking too much alcohol&nbsp;</li><li>talking about hurting themselves, wanting to die or suicide.&nbsp;</li></ul>Trust your instincts. You know your child well, so if you&rsquo;re concerned about how they&rsquo;re coping or any changes in behaviour, then it&rsquo;s worth talking to a professional.&nbsp;&nbsp;Where to get help&nbsp;There are many health professionals and organisations you can contact for help if you are concerned about your child&rsquo;s coping or behaviour, including:&nbsp;<ul><li>Your GP&nbsp;or specialist&nbsp;&ndash; may&nbsp;be able to talk to your child, or help you decide whether to consult a psychologist&nbsp;</li><li>Nurses &ndash; may be the most constant contact you have with the treatment centre and are a source of valuable information and support&nbsp;</li><li>Social workers &ndash; talk to patients every day about communication issues and have a wealth of knowledge about services&nbsp;</li><li>Psychologists and counsellors &ndash; can help you with communication and behavioural issues&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>School counsellors &ndash; are trained in&nbsp;child development and can be a great&nbsp;source of support and ideas&nbsp;</li><li>Psychiatrists &ndash; will see children with more serious issues (with a referral from your GP).&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;More advice/support&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;Contact&nbsp;Canteen&nbsp;(1800 ?? or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="mailto:support@canteen.org.au">support@canteen.org.au</a>)&nbsp;to talk to&nbsp;one of our counsellors&nbsp;or get recommendations for the right support for your child.&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;If&nbsp;your child insists nothing is wrong and refuses help, try texting or emailing them a link to&nbsp;Canteen&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://canteen.org.au/join/">online community</a>&nbsp;where they can talk to other young people who&nbsp;get what they&rsquo;re going through&nbsp;or have a confidential and non-judgemental chat with a&nbsp;Canteen&nbsp;counsellor.&nbsp;Useful sites/resources

When to Seek Mental Health Care for Your Child When You Have Cancer

We&rsquo;ve released&nbsp;a new app to support you through a cancer diagnosis!&nbsp;If you&rsquo;ve ever been worried about what questions to ask or remembering&nbsp;all the answers, this app can help.&nbsp;Features&nbsp;of the Cancer? app include:<ul><li>Read question lists developed by other young cancer patients in the &lsquo;Prepare for appointment&rsquo; section (and add your own&nbsp;list)&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Record your next appointment&nbsp;and listen back&nbsp;to answers&nbsp;in your own time&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Use the &lsquo;My team&rsquo; section to keep track of who&rsquo;s who in your treatment team&nbsp;</li></ul>Download the app using the links below:&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1488397524">iOS</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.org.canteen.teen.recall">Android</a>&nbsp;</li></ul>The Cancer? app project is a Cancer Australia&nbsp;Supporting People with Cancer&nbsp;Grant Initiative, funded by the Australian Government.&nbsp;

Canteen's community for parents whose family life is impacted by cancer