I Have Cancer and I’m Dying and I’m Ready to Tell My Son

It's one thing to break your own heart. But it's much, much worse to have to break the heart of the child you wish so much you could see grow up. Annette McLeod writes:

"I’m sad for all the things I won’t get to do, read, eat, watch, play with — but mostly I am sorry that I am going to break my own child’s heart. When you would do literally anything to protect him, to know that you’re completely powerless to do so is profoundly … what’s the word for as awful as awful gets?...I told him the least I think he needed to know. I have cancer, and it’s a more serious illness than a cold or a flu. I told him what chemotherapy was in the most child-friendly way I could, and that I would lose my hair. He handled that too, and although he started getting up at least once after he was in bed, looking for nothing more than an extra hug, he didn’t ask any questions.When my hair fell out, he was mostly concerned that I would embarrass him by showing up bald at school. I assured him I would, of course....If I won’t be around to show him how to live well, the least I can do is show him how to die well."



I Have Cancer and I’m Dying and I’m Ready to Tell My Son | Learning