Seeking Mom's Group Help in Lebanon, OH

First, let me say that I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

I have no experience with cervical cancer, but my boyfriend (a father of 4, and pseudo-father to my own 2 children) is currently battling colon cancer. I'm familiar with the challenges of being a parent while you're dealing with an illness like this. There is a wonderful place in Akron called Stewart's Caring Place. Their mission is to help families cope with cancer. They may know of similar resources in your area...or it may be worth the drive to Akron to talk to them. http://www.stewartscaringplace.org/

I hope this is helpful.

Hi C.,
My heart goes out to you. A cancer diagnosis is so all consuming; I also have had one. I have learned about a blood test that detects disease 3 to 36 months before there are any symptoms. This test can also help you learn how to get healthier so hopefully your body can fight off cancer cells. Let me know if you want to learn more about it. In my opinion getting you healthy would be the best way to help you take care of your precious children and have a long life with your great guy.

I've never experienced anything like this but will certainlly include you in my thoughts and prayers.
M.

Gosh, I sure will say a prayer for ya...What a thing to go through. Do your kids understand anything that's going on? I'd tell them as much as they are ready to hear. You never know if you might inspire a future medical career in one of them! I was hospitalized a couple of yrs ago...nothing as serious, but still went thru surgery for an injury. My daughter, who was 11 at the time, just soaked up all the images and watched everything she was allowed to watch. She saw them take blood, stick in my IVs and inject drugs...she loved seeing my scar...She's a total care giver type...Maybe not doctor material, but for sure an aide, EMS worker or medical technician or phys therapist one day. Use this time to teach them...secrets can backfire unless you really do have babies / toddlers who might not be as cognitively aware. The more open and able to share you can be, the less fear will happen. I know, easier said than done. I was terribly afraid of ending up worse off than I was to start with...I still had panic moments, but you should learn as much as you can. That's the best you can do. Hang in there. P.

There are several MOPS Groups (mothers of preschoolers) around the country. You can find one in your area by going to mops.org I am not sure if you are looking for a support group or for other moms to actually help you in your home, but I believe they could provide both for you. I wished you lived closer or I would reccomend the dayton family network to you. You might try them anyway. Their website is daytonfamilynetwork.com I would also recommend family.org as a helpful resource. If your cancer has spread, you may want to continue to see your doctor(of course) but also consider going to a holistic doctor as well. They have a very different approach as to how the body heals itself. Many people have found the answers there when their traditional doctors could not help them. I will be praying for you. You can contact me directly if you ever just need to talk.

J. Franz

Hi C.! My mom is a cervical cancer survivor! I was only around 10 years old or so when she had it! I know she had a few treaments done at the John brown Cancer Center. As of today she is going strong. Truthfully, I don't recall her being very ill, or having it so bad she was hospitalized. At that time she was only maybe 30 years old. Today she is 45 and doing okay. Despite the fact that she is a heavy smoker and drinker. I have tried to talk to her about this subject, she doesn't like to discuss it much. I know that's not much help, if any at all. I thought maybe if you knew that she made through just fine with two young kids of her own at the time, you should feel a little reassured. And to add, think back about 15-18 years ago, the technology wasn't as near as great as today. Good luck, God Bless and you'll be in my prayers.

S.

hi my name is B., i went tru that in 92 after my daughter was born. i lived in tn then and we had a program kinda like this that if a parent was in need of some help this group would help the moms would take turns coming in your home and helpn take care of the house duties or taking care of the kids or taking the mom where she needed to go or if she just needed some rest... i know alot of people where im at so this is my first day on here so let me do some homework on your situation and il see what i can come up with i need to know what all you are needing help with ok... god bless if you want you can reply here or at ____@____.com im still not sure how all this works like i said this is my first day to mamasource.. your friend B.

Hi C. -
I was very sorry to read about your diagnosis and I truly hope that the results of your recent surgery are good and that you have nothing to worry about. I am the mother of a 7mo. old baby and I can't imagine trying to care for all of those kids and trying to recover from something like this at the same time.

While I do not have personal experience in this matter, I can offer you some resources that you might find helpful. You can call the American Cancer Society 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get up to date cancer information as well as get referrals for a variety of cancer programs and services right in your own community. You can be connected to local support groups and find practical services like rides to treatments at no charge. You can also log onto www.cancer.org to access this information. There is a great online community on this website called the "Cancer Survivors Network" that links you with thousands of cancer survivors who share their stories, and offer advice and help. It's easy to become a member and every service offered by the American Cancer Society is free of charge. There are also a lot of resources for caregivers of cancer patients that are available on the same website.

Not too long ago, my grandmother passed away from a tumor in her brain caused by an aggressive melanoma. We had no source of information or support during her illness and I wish I had these resources then like I do now. Other family members and friends have been touched by cancer since then, but luckily, all have been either maintaining or healed and well.

I hope that you will be able to find some valuable information and support from these resources that can help you on your journey to healing and health.

If you have any further questions about these resources, I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.