Eliane is a cancer caregiver to her father and uncle. She shares her journey as a caregiver that has taught her many new things not only about cancer but also about life. 

I was a caregiver to my father and uncle. Even though my father had an ending to his journey, my uncle is continuing his journey of life along with his beautiful family. The caregiving journey taught me many life lessons. 

My father had lung cancer that was detected when cancer had spread to other organs and he passed away fighting cancer. My uncle had leukemia- Blood cancer which was detected in the early stage and is now being treated for cancer and cured. He is leading his regular life. 

My uncle consulted the doctor due to a wound that caused bleeding. There were no symptoms related to cancer. This is how my uncle was diagnosed with blood cancer at an early stage. Even though the treatment was tough, the ending of the cancer journey is a happy ending.

As my father was in the last stage lung cancer and was in much pain, the treatment started with morphine for coping up with pain. The doctors had declared that the chemotherapy cannot help with curing cancer for his case given his age and the stage of cancer, but it can help him live coping cancer with less pain. His body was so weak making it hard and painful for my father to walk by himself. After the second session of chemotherapy, he stopped going to work. After the chemotherapy sessions, radiotherapy sessions started. My fathers journey was for 7 months. After being diagnosed with cancer the time flew away so fast to register any moment in that time span. But today when we remember those moments of the journey, my father taught me many things about life and they brought peace and a smile to my face. Even though the times were hard, thinking about them today gives many memories. 

When my uncle was diagnosed with leukemia I was at the hospital. Being young at that time I was asked to go and wait outside in the waiting room. I could hear the people at the reception discussing my uncle having leukemia and had to be transferred to another hospital because the hospital where the diagnosis took place was a small facility. I did my own research about leukemia and cancer.

Later regarding my fathers condition, I also got to know it by myself. My mother did not want me to know my father had stage-IV lung cancer. I always wondered why they did not tell me the truth about cancer. I wanted to stand for them and support them during hard times. 

Even though the treatment depends on the stage of cancer, everyone should go through the treatment procedure. The treatment may be painful but it either alleviates the pain caused by cancer or guarantees a happy cancer-free ending of the journey depending on the stage.

We need to have faith that everything will fall into place. Having positivity will help us cope with hardships. One day when I saw some children in the cancer hospital, I felt that my father and uncle were old enough to understand what was happening to them and had seen so much more than those children. One has to feel happy for every day they get to live with their family and loved ones doing the things they like. 

At first, when my uncle got diagnosed with cancer I felt why my uncle had cancer. He always had a healthy body and a  happy family. I like to conclude that health should be the first priority of every individual. 

Parting message

Take care of your health and make it your first priority.

Accept everything life gives you including the hardships, and live every moment with positivity.