Family Life Resource

An email I received recently….

My name is Buffy Krajewski and I am the mother of a child born with cancer.  My son, Tristan, was born with adrenocortical carcinoma ten years ago and has now been in remission for nine years.  His primary tumor was found on a routine sonogram when I was thirty three weeks pregnant.  Tristan’s story is an amazing story and one you probably won’t find anywhere else not only because of the fact that he was born with cancer but because the cancer he had only accounts for .2% of all cancers diagnosed each year.  I am writing to you to ask for your help. 

We were among the lucky ones because Tristan made it but that isn’t the case for so many.  Unfortunately, with Tristan’s cancer came a long list of secondary ailments, another potentially fatal disease, and my depression.  I have written a book titled An Angel’s Kiss Embracing the Spirit of a Child Born with Cancer.  I take the reader through my pregnancy, delivery, my son’s diagnosis of adrenocortical carcinoma, and ultimately my unrelenting depression.  It is a realistic account of my fight to save my son’s life, to reclaim our family, and in the end to save myself from the guilt that I allowed to consume me for years.  I speak honestly about the emotions most mothers don’t want to admit feeling.  Most people don’t realize that even if the cancer is beaten it leaves a huge amount of destruction in its wake.  Even when the cancer is no longer visible it is never far because the ramifications of the illness last a lifetime.  I have given readers the opportunity to stand in my shoes and experience something nobody should endure; however, in the end it is a story of survival, determination, a mother’s refusal to allow her child to become a statistic, and ultimately inspiration.

When Tristan was born I absorbed myself with anything and everything I could find that had to do with his cancer or cancer in general but I couldn’t find a book that spoke honestly about the guilt, blame, and pressure we as mother’s put on ourselves during our child’s illness.  If I had come across just one book that was capable of letting me know I wasn’t alone and I was normal for feeling what I felt, my depression wouldn’t have taken over my life for as long as it did.  I have written An Angels’ Kiss in hopes that another mother who is either beginning or ending her journey into pediatric cancer will come across it and be helped by it.  I am hoping that I may make the difference in someone else’s life that I wish was made in mine.

Grab the book here.

Filed under: Family Helps on June 3rd, 2007