Debbie Legault

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.

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?

Should I mention my daughter’s cancer diagnosis, or keep people blissfully unaware, and say that we’re all doing fine?

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.

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?

Eventually, my daughter will stop seeing her oncologist, and while I appreciate all that he has done, I hope that they part ways forever.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A mother describes how her daughter formed an unlikely friendship with one of her chemo nurses after her treatment ended.

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.

A mother of a young breast cancer survivor shares the letter she wrote to Santa explaining her only Christmas wish.

A caregiver and mother of a breast cancer survivor explains the common misunderstanding people have when asking how her daughter’s health post-treatment.

A mother explains how difficult it is to forget about the painful memories of her daughter's cancer experience and how she is moving forward, one step at a time.

“The financial burden is another gift that cancer keeps on giving,” writes the mother and caregiver of a young woman with breast cancer.

A mother of a breast cancer survivor expresses the constant worry she lives with, wondering if cancer will wreak havoc on her daughter’s life again.

A mother and cancer caregiver expresses her frustration over the lack of breast cancer screening in young women and explains how catching cancer early saved her daughter’s life.

A caregiver discusses the grueling experience of not knowing whether cancer could strike one of her children or family members again at any given moment.

A caregiver discusses her wishes for a woman who was recently diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. “Most of all I wish that time will stand still for her, so that she can crawl into bed with her children and hold them as long as she wants to, feeling their bodies curl into hers as they sleep,” she writes.

A caregiver writes about her daughter’s breast cancer odds. “One of the most difficult things I deal with on a daily basis is realizing that I didn’t have to say goodbye to my child because of luck,” she writes.

A caregiver explains how she and her daughter soaked up as much joy as possible during the few hours her daughter felt close to normal after breast cancer treatment.

A mother describes how her daughter discovered a lump that led to a breast cancer diagnosis.

A caregiver describes the imprint her daughter’s oncology nurses left on her heart.

A mother describes how lonely she feels as the caregiver of an adult child with cancer.

A caregiver describes her daughter’s experience with breast cancer, and what the month of May signifies to them both.

A mother and caregiver describes how she views each moment with her daughter differently after her daughter’s breast cancer diagnosis.