As a parent, you never want to hear that your child has cancer, or any disease! It is one of the scariest, most heart-wrenching things to fathom!
I will never forget the day when I was still working as the Law Office Manager and Legal Secretary to one of the Partners at a Law Firm in Calabasas when, just about 20 minutes before closing ……
One of the Legal Secretaries that I hired and who worked for one of the other partners of the firm came into my office and said that one of her son’s best friends was just diagnosed with testicular cancer! Her son and his best friend were only one year older than my son!
I immediately called my son and told him what I had just heard and asked him if he checks himself “down there”! He said, “Oh Mom!” ….. Then, just a couple of minutes later, my son called me back and said “Mom, something isn’t right down there!” I said, “Hang up and I will call my doctor, and I’ll call you right back!” — Now it was 4:50 pm, and I called my primary care medical doctor’s office. Thank God, one of the nurses answered! I mentioned what my son was experiencing, and the nurse said the doctor had already left for the day; but for my son and I to be at the doctor’s office at 8:30 am the next morning, before any other patients were there!
My dear maternal grandmother had just passed away at 97+ years old, a very short while before my son’s diagnosis. I truly feel that my Nana tapped God on the shoulder and said, “You need to get an important message right away to my great-grandson!” I completely believe in Divine Intervention!
That is when the cancer diagnosis and journey began ……
We saw the doctor the next day at 8:30 am sharp, and he ordered several blood tests, CAT scans, X-rays, MRIs, … a multitude of tests. The doctor had the labs get the test results back to him the next day. The doctor took all the test results to the Urology Department Panel at UCLA in Los Angeles, California the very next day. All the medical professionals concurred that there were two (2) tumors that looked like two black marbles in one sac (testicle), most likely malignant. That night, my son lied down by my side on my bed, and we just prayed and prayed, and I comforted my son telling him he was going to be alright.
I also offered my son a guided imagery/relaxation and deep breathing to calm him. My son also went to the hypnotherapy college I graduated from, so he did use some self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques to calm himself.
The next morning, we took my son to the hospital for his life-saving surgery. I never prayed so hard in my entire life! They removed the one sac with the two cancerous/malignant tumors; and to the skilled doctor’s keen eyes and skilled hands, he felt he “got it all”, thank God!
When we went back for my son’s post-op checkup, the doctor took some more tests, and everything came out great! Although, the doctor did suggest targeted radiation treatments. Since my son was 18 and a legal adult, I looked him in the eyes, and said “Whatever you decide, I am 100% by your side, no matter what!” My son decided against the treatments.
Of course, my son had to go for his checkups several times a year, including all the original tests. Each year throughout a five-year period, he went back for all his tests for several years, and now he only needs to go once a year! I thank God every day that my son is free from that horrible disease!
Thank God, (and I thank God every day), to this day, 21 years later, he is cancer-free!! My son also helped two of his best friends since first grade go through cancer and cancer treatments. One of the young men had the same type of cancer as my son, although it had spread throughout his whole body; but to this day, he is living a healthy, happy life! His other friend had leukemia, and he deals with the ups and downs while living a wonderful life with his own sweet family. But all in all, we thank God every day that my son and his friends are living healthy, happy, wonderful lives!
I encourage all parents to stay in touch with your kids, no matter how old they are!
If you are interested in setting up a discovery call, please call me at 1-818-262-1246.