VAT Registration No: 842417633. The stressful nature of the situation puts other family members at risk for psychological distress, especially the children. Early on, we had a family meeting so my parents could announce, “Your mom has cancer,” and then another one later to tell us, “The radiation didn’t work, so we’re going to try chemo.” I'm not even sure now if all of these memories are real or if they are just made up from what I believe … The impact of cancer within the Filipino family was evident in a local study done by Gorospe (2002). My mother and her journey with cancer have taught me to experience everything that I can, to always forgive, and most importantly, to never take anything for granted because at any moment, it could all be gone. It is also of interest to know how maternal cancer affects the relationship between the mother and adolescent daughter. Being more emotionally involved in relationships and having higher levels of interpersonal needs, warmth, and sensitivity are important factors which contribute to the finding that female adolescents are less lonely than their male counterparts. It is also projected that the number of cancer cases and deaths will continue to escalate in the future. “Well you’re a hat person, Erin,” she would reply, smiling at me. Copyright © 2003 - 2020 - UKEssays is a trading name of All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. No extra burden placed on me and my siblings. It is estimated that 30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer has one or more dependent offspring still under her care (Faulkner & Davey, 2002). It has to be taken into consideration that the Filipino family is usually comprised of immediate family members, as well as extended relatives. Fies has managed to capture, in word and graphic panels, the thousand emotions and moments that swirl about a family when cancer changes their lives. The teenagers expressed that they felt guilty because their own lives were normal, whereas their mother was enduring the painful physical and psychological consequences of cancer. Inconsistent findings were found. This nature of Filipino families makes it a more dynamic and complicated system. The most common cancer sites for both men and women are as follows: lung, breast, liver, cervix, and colon (“A Look at Cancer,” 2007). Sure, there are the memories of the days after she had undergone a particularly bad treatment, when we would tiptoe around the creaky wood floors upstairs whispering, "Shhh, Mom's sleeping." But I will literally NEVER forget the last few days of her life. Carandang (1987) found out that regardless of the socioeconomic status of the family, the children play the role of the family’s protector. In the recent few decades, the number of cancer has been increasingly on the rise. But deep inside, it was too painful to see my ever energetic mother lying in bed with all the tubes in her body. The well-being of the family members and the family’s functioning depend greatly on the interaction of the subsystems (Faulkner & Davey, 2002). I don't think they wanted cancer to infect our lives, too. Study for free with our range of university lectures! So if you want to achieve the best My Mom Has Cancer Essay grades, come to us. In the Filipino culture, daughters are reared to help out in domestic chores and assist the mother with her duties (Liwag, Dela Cruz, & Macapagal, 1998). (2005) reported clinically elevated scores in internalizing and externalizing problems. Relatives and friends of cancer patients. And if I had learned all these things through a traumatic experience with cancer, I could write a damned good application essay about it. Sharie’s curly locks called for some serious glamour: red lipstick, a bit of blush, some funky colored eye shadow, and an obscure pair of diamond-studded fake eyelashes. They preferred that we decorate mannequin heads and parade our brother through the house wearing a woman's wig. In the end, they both looked fabulous, worthy of being put on display. In some studies, adolescents were also concerned with the possibility of potentially inheriting the cancer (Davey, Askew, et al., 2003; Walsh et al., 2005). And I guess now that I’ve emerged, too—through the stages of self-centered pre-teen and self-interested college applicant to become the young woman I am today. Cancer was found to be associated with psychological distress. It is usually linked to cigarette smoking. Some of the possible symptoms of cancer are abnormal bleeding, blockage in the bowel, excessive weight loss, pneumonia, excessive fatigue, changes in the skin and prolonged cough. If your dad, mom, or a first degree relative has had lung cancer, you are at higher risk than general population to develop the same condition. Company Registration No: 4964706. My mother has breast cancer. In effect, although a maternal cancer diagnosis is experienced as a personal crisis, it also makes a great impact on the whole family system. The results also varied depending on the t. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on the UKDiss.com website then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! She’d been sick and receiving treatment in France for the past eleven months. Visser et al. However, some teenagers expressed that their friends had difficulty empathizing with their situation. However, findings consistently show that cancer risk is positively correlated with age (Baum & Andersen, 2001; “A Look at Cancer,” 2007). Between the two parents, maternal depression exerts a stronger influence on the child’s behavioral functioning. She found out last week but couldn’t bring herself to tell my brothers and me until today. By the time Filipino daughters reach adolescence, they are expected to become “mother substitutes” (Liwag, Dela Cruz, & Macapagal, 1998, p.155). At that time, cancer for me and probably for anyone else was an unknown monster who spared no life when it hits you. Researchers have acknowledged that it is also necessary to look into the effect of cancer within the context of the family. Essay on benefits of cow argumentative essay topics ielts my life essay has mom impacted My what do research papers look like. Cancer comes in many forms and types. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Results revealed that the eldest children exhibited considerable anxiety during the process of dealing with their mother’s illness. In families which are under a great deal of stress, the child is vulnerable to everything that is going on between the parents. I had spent three to four of those months with her, watching as she went through radiation and chemo. The adolescents’ emotional difficulties partly stemmed from feeling powerless over their parent’s illness. Cancer comes in many forms and types. I relate a lot to this. According to the family systems theory, the condition of one family member influences the condition of other family members. They both seemed quiet and a little air-headed, but you could tell from their hair that they had completely different personalities. It’s normal to feel scared when your parent has cancer. guilty I feel guilty because I’m healthy and my … So let us take a look at the meaning, causes, and types of cancer in this essay on cancer. We even have an urgent delivery option for short essays, term papers, or research My Mom Has Cancer Essay papers needed within 8 to 24 My Mom Has Cancer Essay hours. We've got articles, videos and forum discussions that provide answers to all of your test prep, admissions and college search questions. Family members and friends find that they have to manage their relationship with cancer and life’s most fundamental questions. My mother has cancer and I am preparing the lines I have heard on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “House” because I don’t know what else to do. Generally, adolescents in the family had to take on more responsibilities at home, such as household chores and caregiving tasks for their younger siblings and the ill parent (Davey, Askew, & Godette, 2003; Davey, Gulish, Askew, Godette, & Childs, 2005; Grabiak, Bender, & Puskar, 2007; Visser, Huizinga, Van der Graaf, Hoekstra, & Hoekstra-Weebers, 2003). On the other hand, externalizing problems are more noticeable ways of dealing with stress because they are reflected through one’s behavior. Their need for interaction actually reduces the feelings of loneliness because Filipina adolescents have a richer source of social and emotional support (Jimenez, 2009). These statistics are truly astonishing and scary. Breast Cancer Made Me a Better Mom, and After My Diagnosis, I Changed the Way I Parented My Son Facing a potentially life-threatening diagnosis of breast cancer taught me … During the year and a half that my mom was undergoing treatment, I became a teenager, started shaving my legs, found my first boyfriend, and mapped out my future as an interior designer. Before I talk about my mom’s diagnosis, though, I should talk about my life before my mom got sick: easy going, … This bilateral characteristic of the family makes the relationships within the family system wider and more intertwined. *You can also browse our support articles here >. I’m afraid that something might happen to my parent at home, and I won’t know what to do. They may experience a variety of emotional responses, the most common of which are depression and anxiety, as a way to cope with their stress. New cancer cases are estimated to increase from 11.3 million in 2007 to 15.5 million in 2030 (WHO, 2008). Even though they were less convinced that things will work out, they took more initiative in handling the medical concerns of their mother (Gilbar & Borovik, 1998). Being the eldest, they had to take on additional household responsibilities, including caring of their ill mother and younger siblings. Every member of the family, especially the children, has to adjust to the emotional burden, physical demands, and lifestyle changes which cancer brings about. In the local scene, it is estimated that one in every 1,800 Filipinos will suffer from cancer every year (“Philippines’ Breast Cancer,” 2008). (2003) supported this claim as their study found that when compared to a control group, adolescents dealing with parental cancer exhibited significantly higher stress-response symptoms, which included avoidance and intrusive thoughts. At home she didn’t care as much. Shortly after my mom’s diagnosis, I shared the news with my friend Jen, whose mom died from cancer 20 years ago. If you’re an individual or company looking for help making your content better—or you just want to go out to tea—get in touch at, 15% off Career Coaching | Use code CYBER15 through Dec 13th |, mom and daughter courtesy of Shutterstock. All the payments on our website are 100% secure. In this case, the whole system has to make corresponding changes in their behavior in order to compensate for the disruption in the roles among the members. We even have an urgent delivery option for short essays, My Mom Has Cancer Essay term papers, or research papers needed within 8 to 24 hours. We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.co.uk. They wanted us to laugh, and they wanted to laugh right along with us. Your mother is an important figure in your cancer risk profile if she has or has had breast cancer. Its goal was to help women who were dissatisfied with their lives to figure out what would make them happy. Several studies compared the psychological functioning of adolescents whose parents have cancer vis-a-vis a control group. Informative Essay About Cancer . There are around 100 types of cancers that impact the human body. They wanted a normal childhood for me and my siblings. Aside from sharing the burden with their family, the daughters are also faced with the challenge of dealing with the developmental demands of being an adolescent. My Mom Has Cancer Essay the personal information you disclose when using our service will remain safe with us. Sure, there were the physical changes, including my shorter hairstyle. Aside from these, they also have additional sources of stress such as meeting the demands of being wives, mothers, and professionals in their respective fields. My mom’s doctor simply labeled cancer as an infectious disease caused by the abnormal division of cells within the body that affected people all over the world; however, in my life, cancer became the reason why my world froze and an illness forced me into adulthood at the young age of fourteen. Don't assume that you know this information—it's worth specifically asking. After chemotherapy and surgery, my mom officially went into remission in March 2011.  The Affects That Cancer Has On Families Kansas State University When a loved one is diagnosed with a chronic illness, it’s puts tremendous stress and remorse on the non-ill loved one. The wall on the side of BigB has a mural of the world with every color of peoples skin on it. Breast cancer essay by: Marla Strong- Miller Breast cancer can run in the family. According to Robinson, Caroll, and Watson (2005), cancer within the family can be considered as an emotional crucible. A breast cancer essay is not an assignment students take without second thought. They were new members of our family, and we were skeptical at first. Consistent with the worldwide trend, the number of cancer patients in the Philippines is also expected to increase in the coming years. Aside from emotional problems, behavioral changes were also observed among children of cancer patients. As soon as I saw their pale, lifeless faces, I decided that they needed a makeover. The psychological effects of maternal cancer on children are widely investigated. This favorable social functioning may be attributed to the strong social support which the adolescents actively seek and maintain. I am not able to deal with the this and there are lot of expectations from me being the man of the house. I should have grasped what was going on and been more helpful to my parents. Dealing with maternal cancer can cause distress and anxiety because this illness is usually associated with poor prognosis, agonizing pain, negative effects of the treatment, and low survival rates. My grandmother died of cancer. Stay on top of the information you need to navigate the admissions process amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The adolescents felt that they did not have control over the outcome of the diagnosis and treatment, which in turn also affected the moods and accessibility of both parents (Davey, Askew, et al., 2003). Later, I reflected on how much my life has changed since I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer four years ago. A significant number of women who belong to this population are mothers. And I am ready to write my “cancer story.” Not one full of strife or drama, blame or vanity—the types of accounts that would have come if I had tried to write this at an earlier time in my life. It is comprised of several subsystems which characterize the existing relationships within the family such as parental, marital, and sibling relationships (Faulkner & Davey, 2002). Cancer blurs the roles in the family. The initial emotional responses were shock and disbelief, followed by devastation and intense feelings of sadness (Davey, Askew, & Godette, 2003; Davey, Gulish, Askew, Godette, & Childs, 2005). This may result in adjustment difficulties and psychological consequences, thus, making the children vulnerable to the impact of having a parent with cancer. Registered Data Controller No: Z1821391. Cancer is also an extreme situation for a cancer patient’s loved ones. The Philippine society is familial in nature (Jocano, 1995).