Once your child has been diagnosed with cancer and the treatments have begun, it is not often that they get to do “normal” things. Going on the internet can be informative for you and fun for them.

Sometimes the rigors of your daily routines can get to be just too much. At times even the simplest of tasks seem daunting and unforgiving. If you have a child battling cancer, then you know more than most, just how taxing life can be day-to-day. So this week we've decided to give Mom and Dad a break from the normal regiments and talk about something less demanding.

The doctor has told you that your child has cancer. You are processing the information and begin your search on websites, with organizations, doctors and anything else that can give you the information you need to begin treatment and get through this very difficult time. What you don’t think about is “you.”

Although this is next to impossible to consider, if you do not take care of yourself, you will not have the strength or fortitude to do what needs to be done. Once your child is diagnosed, the most important thing for them to have first and foremost is you. Here are some tips to help you so that you can help them:

Depressed, anxious, afraid, angry, helpless, alone.

These are just a few of the feelings you may experience during your cancer treatment. It's normal. These feelings can adversely affect your appetite and personal life and any of the basic day-to-day activities you enjoyed previously.  

There are many things you can do to cope with your feelings during treatment.  Here are some ideas that have worked for other people.
Eat your favorite foods on days you do not have treatment.  This way, you enjoy the foods, but they won’t remind you of something upsetting.

Relax, meditate, or pray.  Activities like these help many people feel calm and less stressed.

Cancer.

The word alone takes your breath away.

It is such a staggering epidemic, that the sheer number of people affected by the disease is as heartbreaking as it is mystifying. As we slowly learn more about what causes cancer, we also begin to learn more about preventive measures.

The relationship between diet and cancer is striking and lead us to ask, what can we eat to help prevent cancer? Below is a list of food that, according to Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic, can help aid in the fight.

When your child’s treatment team gives you information about your child’s cancer, you may not remember everything. Considering the circumstance, this is normal. There is a lot of information and your emotions are going to be getting the best of you. You may want to write, tape record or ask a friend or family member to help you figure out the best way for you to retain all of the information. This will help you to be an effective partner with your child’s treatment team.  Following are some questions that you will want to know the answers to: