Laughing Through the Fear

No parent should ever hear the words:
"your child has cancer". And yet, on
March 21, 2001, that is exactly what
we were told. Our daughter Kelly,
who was not yet 13 years old, was
diagnosed with advanced stage IV
Neuroblastoma.



In the U.S. more than 8,000 children
under age 15 are diagnosed with
cancer every year: one out of every
630 individuals. This book tells the
story of one of those children,
through the eyes of her mother.
You will find this journey to be filled
with laughter and tears. There is
nothing more frightening to a child
than knowing that their life could end
soon. There is nothing more painful
to a mother than to know that there is
little she can do to ease the pain of her
child who is suffering. What Kelly
and I discovered together was that we
had to find reasons to laugh, even on
the most frightening of days. It was
only through laughing that we found
a way to manage the fear. Not just her
fear, but mine as well.