Daughter of a Cancer Patient - Haven

As teenagers we do what we want because we believe we are invincible. Usually, we grow out of that stage and become a bit more responsible and aware of life and its ups and downs.

I didnt. Yes I did become a bit more responsible but I still believed that I was immortal and that aura touched my family as well. It was a big wake up call when A ended up in hospital and suddenly my world came crashing around me.

Home, particularly my bed, has always been my safe spot. But one night, just after I checked up on the parentals and switched off the lights, I felt scared. Even home has become a scary place where spiders roam, ghosts tap you on the shoulder and monsters lurk under the bed. The safe haven of home has gone. Even now the worry hasnt ceased.

Daughter of a Cancer Patient - Broken Telephone

Broken telephone is this game I used to play in school. A group of friends would sit in a row, someone would whisper something into the ear of the person sitting next to them, that person would pass on the message to their neighbour and so forth until the last person has to repeat what they think is the original message. Most of the time the final message was nothing like the original message.

Sitting all the way in Australia I feel like the last person playing broken telephone. News about prognosis and progress, side effects and other changes start with the doctors, move on to the parentals and other family members and eventually makes it way down to us. The message I get is usually along the lines of 'he is fine, the chemo is working, any side effects are because of the chemo'. The real details are not there, either deliberately omitted or just lost along the way.

When I was at home there were phone calls, especially from fellow mallus, who want information and progress on A's health. After answering numerous calls myself , I wondered how accurate the news being passed on would be. I figured that some might add a bit more drama to the story (these are mallus after all), so my response to all the questions became 'he is fine, the chemo is working, any side effects are because of the chemo.'

Try broken telephone that message and get it wrong!