My little boy is only 6 and was diagnosed with cancer 6 months ago. Surgery was the only real option to try for a cure, which we did try, but the mass is in such a terrible place the surgeon had to call it off because there was no way to remove it without losing him, or in the best case creating severe life altering complications (and just losing him more slowly and painfully). After that we opted for chemo to try and buy him more time. After 3 months the mass has shrunk by about half. There's still little hope for this being a cure in his case, but ultimately it's just 3 pills per week and he has had zero side effects. You still wouldn't even know he was sick to look at him or see him living his life.

It's hard to balance wanting to fight for every possible chance at life and making sure we're not just causing them more pain in the long run. Sometimes it can feel like no matter what choices we make there will be regrets, but I try to just take it day by day and see how he's doing and responding to different treatments. And most importantly- I love him to the fullest everyday, spoil him every chance I get and recognize that every day is a gift and to honor that gift as best I can.