I Think It Was Harder for My Parents

I Think It Was Harder for My Parents

Anastasia

I was diagnosed with brain cancer when I was 16 years old so naturally, I was sent to a pediatric oncologist. The sound of young children and babies screaming in pain made me see my own pain as not that bad.

It was horrible. Something no parent should ever endure. The sounds will forever haunt me. I only hope that they are so young that they will never remember the time or the pain and that they live a full and healthy life. As for me, I took it in stride. The emotional damage and abuse was worse than any physical pain that I had.

Let me make that clear..not abuse from the hospital..the illness itself.

It has been 6 years since my treatments ended and I still get headaches and have acquired panic attacks and have trouble breathing. On the plus side, I became a lot more interested in neuroscience and am working on my master in research psychology. I hope to provide emotional support and aid in the development of a more beneficial therapy or drug. But I still have my days. Today is one of those days that I feel like crap. Work is difficult when you work with people and you need to look and sound happy all the time.

Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.