COME FOR THE PITY, STAY FOR THE PARTY
It’s a pity so many of us carry the heavy burden of watching our siblings experience cancer alone. Why not make it a party and carry it together?
Every week, my sister and I release a podcast episode unpacking our experience of young adult cancer as both a patient and a sibling.
We’ve discussed topics like chemotherapy and college, boyfriends and breakups. Each episode aims to educate those without cancer in their lives on what it’s like, and to empathize with those who are all too familiar with it. We even had the honor of being interviewed by NPR.
When my younger sister had cancer in my early twenties, I felt so alone. No one seemed to understand how much her suffering affected my daily life, even though we didn’t live together anymore. I founded My Sister’s Cancer to try to fill this gap I felt in the support system, creating a safe space online where siblings can come to connect through shared stories, a sprinkle of sass, and resources for support.
Naming where we are on the cancer journey can help us better understand the support we need in each season:
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Summer
The humidity and oppressive heat of summertime can feel similar to the confusion and overwhelm of a cancer diagnosis
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Autumn
As the leaves die off and fall from the trees, so do we watch our siblings go through a season of loss during cancer treatment
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Winter
Due to transplants or immune suppression, many patients must withdraw as nature does in wintertime to do their best healing
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Spring
Survivorship can be beautiful and difficult, like the first flowers of the year amidst frost or a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis
If you’re the sort who reads your way through a crisis, you’re in the right place.
Throughout my sister’s cancer journey, in an effort not to feel so alone, I read countless cancer memoirs trying to find my own experience reflected back at me. They helped, but didn’t quite speak to my reality as an adult sibling. I started to write my way through it instead. On this site you will find essays and poems ranging from heartfelt to snarky that chronicle my ongoing pilgrimage to support both myself and my sister as we adjust to the permanent mark of cancer in our lives.
Follow along on Instagram @mysisterscancer
