I think the worst thing you can do after you find out your parent has cancer is

hold back the tears

and keep your feelings locked up inside of you.

You have to let it out.

For me I didn’t feel comfortable going to my Mom because I was scared of making her feel worse than she already did. I didn’t want her to know how much I was struggling because I felt as if my emotions would have burdened her.

Instead I went to my best friend. She allowed me to tell her my fears and worries letting out everything that had been building up inside of me. That friendship really helped me through some of my darkest  times.

After the fact, my Mom actually told me that I should have come to her more because she was always so worried about us. It would have comforted her to know how I was feeling.

Another therapeutic thing I started to do was running. I would plug in my earphones and get lost in the music letting my mind drift away from thoughts of cancer, sickness and death.

There are many things we can do to release the feelings we hold inside – Cry. Punch a pillow. Listen to music. Workout. Paint. Draw.

And most importantly tell someone how you are feeling because you may not realize how many people are worried about you too.