Hi everybody,
I'm Anna-Marie from Heavenly Healing.
I've been wanting for a while now to share my thoughts,
My emotions and my daily life in general as someone and in my instance a single mom living with a child who has cancer and as a mom you have the innate need to look after and to protect.
I suppose that this is the motherly instinct that everybody talks about and when you can't look after,
When you can't protect,
A strange kind of guilt sets in.
A guilt because you cannot do what moms do.
Look after and protect when you're faced with cancer.
The only thing that you can do is offer love and support and be your child's biggest cheerleader.
Myelofibrosis doesn't have chemo.
That's one of the things that I have realised.
The blood cancers,
Myelofibrosis is a blood cancer.
Very few people know exactly what it is because when I talk about myelofibrosis or bone marrow cancers,
So is your son taking chemo or is he on chemo?
No,
There is no chemo.
These patients get biologics to keep them alive daily for the rest of their lives.
Biologics are pills that they swallow.
Etienne's biologics for his myelofibrosis cost 55,
000 rand a month.
Yes,
You heard me,
55,
000 rand a month for his Jacobi.
That's what the biologic is called.
These costs call sleepless nights.
Baccarbate is there for a reason.
Myelofibrosis is an old man's disease.
My son is 42.
Old people,
Mature people often have,
Well should be,
On retirement.
They can sleep all day when they're feeling really bad.
Etienne can't sleep all day because he actually has to work to try and earn an income.
Cancer is scary.
Cancer causes people to die at the end of the day.
Living like this is stressful beyond measure.
Sleepless nights.
I know what it feels like,
Guys.
I'm here.
I'm living it.
I want to start a support group for people living with a family member who has cancer.
I believe that we can and we should support one another.
