teenage son mental health after my cancer diagnosis

Hi,

Thank you for contacting us here at Macmillan emmak.  First of all, it’s so great to hear that you’re now cancer free, that’s wonderful news and must be such a relief for all of your family however the cancer journey doesn’t just end does it and it can still affect you and those around you as it has with your son.

I can only imagine what it’s like seeing your son struggling like this emmak, is his school helping you at all, are they aware of your situation, they may have a psychologist or counselor available to help him? 

Of course your son is welcome to call in to chat with us anytime if that would help however there are organisations that specialise in supporting teenagers in this situation such as Hope Support who support 5-25 year olds when a family member is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. 

Rip Rap is also a great organisation, it’s a safe online site developed especially for teenagers who have a parent with cancer, there’s a lot of support there with sharing of stories and forums for peer support, it’s worth looking at to see if it would be suitable for your son.

Our Macmillan website also has some useful information about supporting children, particularly our booklet Talking to Children and Teenagers when an Adult has cancer that has some great information on and links to other support that I think you may find useful and the Cancer Research site has some great information too with details of resources and books for children.

What about yourself emmak, how are you doing? As I mentioned before, I can only imagine what it’s like to have your son struggle like he is.  It’s important to have a good support network around you at a time like this, especially if you’re dealing with children and I just want to remind you that we’re here to support you in any way we can so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us either by giving our support line a call or you can go onto our website and use the chat support if that’s something you prefer.  We also have a great Online Community too where you can talk to others in the forums who have been affected by cancer and who can perhaps offer some support with regard to your son as many of them may have been in a similar situation. 

I hope this information is helpful to you emmak, please do just get back in touch if you need any questions at all.

Kind regards,

Hi Vicky

thank you so much for your message.

I will look at the places you suggested.

It is tough indeed and up until the chemo I've been able to play it down and remain pretty chirpy but this is a different ball game. I do have a great support network thankfully.

I've spoken to his school and he has a sit down with pastoral today. they are very supportive.and will work with us.

Thank you again Vicky. I am very grateful that you replied. 

Hi emmak 

You're very welcome, I'm glad I could help!  Please remember we're here anytime you need a chat, we can look at other support available for you too if you ever need it, just give us a call or use the chat function.

It's so good to hear that your son is getting support from school, hopefully they'll be able to help him through this difficult time and also some of the organisations I mentioned previously will be able to give him support too.

Take care of yourself emmak,

Vicky