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Debbie Legault is the mother of a young woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 27. Debbie chose to share the experience of being a full-time caregiver to her daughter during treatment in a blog called “Mom … It’s Cancer” and published the compilation of those thoughts in book format when active treatment was completed. Legault soon realized that the end of treatment was actually just another beginning and continues to write about the realities of survivorship both from her perspective as a caregiver and from her daughter’s point of view.
January 17, 2023
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Cancer isn't easy for anyone, but sometimes I feel guilty that my daughter had some supports that others do not.
December 22, 2022
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No matter how grateful I feel this holiday season, I fear that my daughter’s no evidence of disease status was just a roll of the dice — and another roll can take us back to the world of cancer.
November 19, 2022
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Think twice before telling me that there is a "good" type of cancer or that I should "just be lucky my daughter is still alive."
November 08, 2022
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I was recently making myself lunch when suddenly, I was hit by an unexpected flashback to my daughter’s breast cancer experience.
October 20, 2022
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My view on Breast Cancer Awareness month — aka “Pinktober” — shifted after my daughter was diagnosed.
October 10, 2022
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It’s easy to question treatment choices patients with cancer make, but my job as the mother of a patient was to be supportive.
September 21, 2022
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It’s good that celebrities with cancer raise awareness about the disease, but I think that they can do more.
September 09, 2022
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When my daughter first started cancer treatment, she was brave, but after she understood how difficult it was, she was courageous in continuing.
August 23, 2022
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From bald heads paired with lush eyebrows to the typical emaciated patient, there are certain tropes of how cancer is portrayed on TV that bother me, as they do not represent the experiences of everyone with the disease.
August 03, 2022
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Despite how caring they may be, certain people in our life had a difficult time being there for the realities of my daughter’s cancer experience.
July 26, 2022
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It baffles me that people take advantage of patients with cancer by peddling fake cures.
July 13, 2022
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When a friend with metastatic breast cancer said that her cancer responded to treatment and she was excited to stop taking daily pills, I thought that something must have been miscommunicated to her.
June 24, 2022
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I can’t imagine my daughter not getting important cancer treatments because we could not afford it or because insurance denied it. Unfortunately, that is the situation for many patients.
June 15, 2022
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Telling friends and family about a cancer diagnosis can be gut wrenching. Here’s how I did it.
June 02, 2022
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Watching my daughter’s life be interrupted by breast cancer made me want to help other parents who might find themselves in a similar situation.
May 25, 2022
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I haven’t seen many 10-year triple-positive breast cancer survivors in my online support groups, but I can’t help but wonder: will my daughter be the one?
May 11, 2022
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Should I mention my daughter’s cancer diagnosis, or keep people blissfully unaware, and say that we’re all doing fine?
April 26, 2022
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If there was a certain diet that could prevent my daughter from going through the perils of chemotherapy, she’d do it in a heartbeat. But science doesn’t back the sugar-feeds-cancer myth.
March 30, 2022
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My daughter’s radiation oncologist said that certain treatments may lead to another cancer diagnosis later in her life, but isn’t living better now worth the risk?
March 21, 2022
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Eventually, my daughter will stop seeing her oncologist, and while I appreciate all that he has done, I hope that they part ways forever.
March 04, 2022
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As humans, we have an inherent need to know why everything happens in our life — including a cancer diagnosis. But unfortunately, that is not always the case.
February 24, 2022
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Chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer would likely cause my daughter to lose her hair, but instead of waiting for her locks to fall out on their own, she took matters into her own hands.
February 20, 2022
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Although my daughter’s cancer scans currently show no evidence of disease, I am haunted by the fact that there is always a possibility it could return and uproot our lives yet again.
February 12, 2022
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As a caregiver to my daughter with breast cancer, I had to get creative in finding ways to help her keep food down after treatments made her nauseous.
February 05, 2022
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A mother of a breast cancer survivor who has lost loved ones to the disease explains why the phrase “living with cancer” doesn’t make sense, because there is no escape from it after diagnosis.
January 25, 2022
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A mother of a breast cancer survivor explains how she and her daughter creatively incorporated exercise into her daughter’s daily routine to improve her physical and mental health during treatment.
January 20, 2022
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A mother of a breast cancer survivor explains how she pinpoints the reasoning behind why a certain day might be extra difficult emotionally for her and how she deals with it.
January 08, 2022
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A mother describes how her daughter formed an unlikely friendship with one of her chemo nurses after her treatment ended.
December 16, 2021
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A caregiver writes a poem expressing joy over her daughter’s clean scan results after having had breast cancer in her own version of the 12 Days of Christmas.
December 06, 2021
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A mother of a young breast cancer survivor shares the letter she wrote to Santa explaining her only Christmas wish.