title: Through the eyes of child: reflections on my mother's death from cancer.
abstract: Before being exposed to palliative care, I had lived through 15 years of emotional suffering, beginning with my mother's relapse of leukemia. My mother died 12 years ago; however, the suffering did not end there. Palliative care helped me find meaning and purpose in my suffering. During her illness I received no explanations about what was happening to my mother, and I felt utter emotional loneliness. I received no help in coping with the uncertainties of my mother's life with cancer or of her dying process. The experience left me sad and angry. Sheltering a child from truth does not lessen fear or alleviate pain; it only causes feelings of confusion, anger, embarrassment, and shame.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Macy
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D001601:Bereavement; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D003643:Death; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D012008:Recurrence; D055815:Young Adult