Attending mainstream education as an autistic girl wasn’t an easy thing to go through. From three, when I started attending nursery, I learnt the only way to get through it was to subconsciously copy others. I observed my peers for inspiration and copied their social......
A letter to Freya’s brother and sister Freya’s brother and sister that is how you have become known. From the moment she was diagnosed we all lost who we were as life was now so focused on Freya and Freya’s oncology life. Doctors and other......
I have three children. Felix (8yrs) Ellie (6yrs) and Sofia (3yrs). Sofia was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia in January 2018. The world of childhood cancer is difficult for adults to understand let alone three children all under the age of 10. Felix is EXTREMELY sensitive,......
Hello world, my name is Ethan and I am 11 years old. With my dad’s help, I’m going to tell you about me and my brother. Me and my older brother Lincoln who is 12 live with my mom during the week and my dad......
HAVING A SIBLING DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER: Hearing that someone you are so close to has been diagnosed with something so big is never easy. No one wants to hear that their sibling that they have a bond with, a bond that they don’t have with......
It’s true how cancer affects everyone around. When our son was diagnosed my wife was 10 weeks pregnant. We were getting ready to announce it and begin celebrating with friends and family, that didn’t quite go to plan. Obviously, our second son Noah is just......
When Theo was first diagnosed I was very shocked because I’d seen all this stuff on TV about Cancer and Macmillan Cancer Support, but I never thought it would happen to my own brother! At first, every day it was quite stressful with all his......
The last words you say to someone are for YOU to remember, and for you to cherish. But to you mine were about trifle! If I rewind to 2013, 14-year-old me would tell you that I have an “awful” life; two annoying sisters, parents that......
This is Joel when he was 7, going off to school minus his twin. My husband worked evenings then so Joel was the only one who left the house – leaving all 4 of us at home hanging out and having fun (in his opinion)!......
Hello My name is Guy Crossly and I will be 12 this month. I have a twin sister called Isla she was first diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia when we were just 2yrs old. I don’t really remember much as I was only little but my mum has a......
Keeping a routine for Clara was very important when Andrew was diagnosed with Leukaemia. We would sacrifice our own sleep, and time with each other, to ensure Clara was content. We were grateful she was older than Andrew and at school already, so busy. My......
When I was forwarded this Facebook message by my mother, I simply read over it, you could say I’m quite a closed book when delicate issues like this are raised. But for some reason, this stuck in the back of my mind. I knew I......
Childhood Cancer is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to see someone go through but I can, hand on my heart, say that every child that’s been through this or going through this is extremely strong! I’ve always known that God gives his......
When Elizabeth became poorly last May (2017) we were very honest with the children upon diagnosis. We told them the tumour had been removed but that she would intensive chemotherapy. We also made them aware that the doctors would do everything they could to make......
Hi, my name is Grace, I know that sometimes brothers and sisters of cancer patients are sometimes forgotten and I wanted to make sure that children who are going through similar things have something to relate to. I thought I would do this by sharing......
My name is Brooklyn Hansen. I am nearly 12 years old, I live with my Dad, Mam and brothers and sister I am the oldest brother in my house, I have 3 younger brothers and 1 younger sister. On the 27th February 2018, I became......
Childhood: sunshine, friends and playtime? No. Hospitals, nurses and family. Spending nearly 3 years driving backwards and forwards from the hospital every day after school, helping the nurses sort out all of their syringes and clearing off the whiteboard when a patient is allowed to......
The Heathrow airport scene in Love Actually is what being human means to me. The hugs and the excitement of being reunited with those you care for, being loved and supported. Whenever I walk through the airport gates at a UK airport, I always feel......
I was recently asked if I was interested in supplying a blog for a fellow oncology mum’s blog page. She’s a highly respected and successful blogger so it’s nice to be able to get to a wider audience and increase my own visibility, but truth......
I’m not a fussy person. I tend to get on with things. Not wanting to make a fuss. It would appear, however, that I have a sort of mental ‘Room 101’ residing in my head. If the world could hear my thoughts, I think I......
Is this a flippant comment? Naively, I didn’t think so! On hearing the shocking news of Felix’s diagnosis this was the sentiment I wanted to pass on. At the time I firmly believed Felix’s cancer story would be but a couple of tough years which......
Dear Kerry, I’ve hesitated for hours and days before finally deciding to write … and this message has sat in my outbox for a long time too. I follow your blog, and from what I gather our stories are quite similar, and I suppose I just......
Isaiah is aware I have made this blog so I like to give him the choice to be involved as much as he can. I asked him if he would like to do a post which he was unsure about at first but has agreed......
Keeping a routine for Clara (5) was very important when Andrew (3) was diagnosed with Leukaemia. We would sacrifice our own sleep, and time with each other, to ensure Clara was content. We were grateful she was older than Andrew and at school already, so......
When Felix was diagnosed with ALL in January 2016, it well and truly took the wind from our family’s sails. As “The Smiths”, we’d always considered ourselves lucky – our parents were in good health and still happily married, us three girls had lovely husbands,......
We were asleep and Wayne answered his phone with a “mate are you OK!” I shot up pillows stacked and waited for him to return. I think we tried to discuss it, a far too early wake up loomed, so we pretended to go to......
Mr Driscoll here, I’m very a private person whom does not like sharing my feelings or thoughts in such a public way because as men it is drilled into us that we have to do everything in our power to be stronger and to keep......
It was a normal day in our household, it was around 6pm and the phone rang. To be honest, I was pretty annoyed as anyone with young children would know this is the ‘play me up hour’ with the screams of tiredness, wanting to put......
My wife Karen, is one of those rare people who can walk into a party full of strangers and leave with new friends and social plans for the next few weeks. I can only marvel at her ease with strangers and the manner with which......
We are nine months into our journey with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. So far, our 3-year old son Ru, has done really well and we have thankfully had a relatively smooth path to date. Whilst the chemotherapy and steroids have some horrible physical side effects, it......
We’d “known” each other for years. Met on a parenting website. Matching aged girls, similar religious beliefs, and just generally got along. It continued as things like Facebook happened, seeing snippets of each other’s lives, comments, not really big meaningful talks but a friend all......
Gold for first across the line, Gold for a wedding band, Gold for 50 years in time, Gold for the holiday sand. Yes Gold normally signifies wealth, Yes Gold’s a reward for success Yet Gold’s a colour for childhood ill health, A Gold ribbon to......
Hi, I’m Wayne. A proud, loyal and lifetime friend of Team Brown. Some of you know me, some of you don’t, some of you think you know me and some of you have never even heard of me. If you are reading this then I......
When someone I barely knew but whom had made me feel welcome was no longer at work. I heard from other colleagues that she had a young son with cancer and my heart went out to her and her family. I thought of my own......
On 28 January 2016, a Thursday morning, I glanced at my phone before leaving for work. Two texts. One bank statement, and another from Kerry. Always glad to hear from my lovely friend, who I no longer have the good fortune to work with, or......
Yann Kermorgant has been an important role model for Felix during his treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. At times, when the pain was too much and he found it difficult to cope, Yann was the only one who truly understood how he felt as he......
So, blog post writing! Mmm, tricky! I used to write a blog. A blog about food, something I’m somewhat of an expert in, I love cooking food and I love eating it. My blog was there to show cooking is to be enjoyed, not to......