Daughter recounts coping with mum's breast cancer treatment

Dubai: When she saw her father pick up his dish and put it in the sink, Lama Jassem knew there was something wrong.

The 28-year-old Lama started suspecting there was something wrong with her mother, when her father started to help out with the chores around the house. "My father never did any chores so when he started, I knew for sure that there was something wrong," she said.

Her mother, Suad Ajoon, managed to hide her disease from her children, until she went for surgery.

When Lama found out that her mother had breast cancer, she says her life paused and every thought she had in her mind was gone.

Lama said: "I remember when my father disclosed to us as he was taking me and my brother to Al Ain to see her. It was the scariest moment in my life."

Lama said that when she entered the hospital room she could not bear to see her mother half asleep on the hospital bed.

"I could not cry because I did not want my mother to know that I was scared, as that would only make her feel worse," she said.

Lama had to look after her siblings and comfort them as well as take care of her mother. "It was an awful time for the whole family, our mother was our support, and to see her in such a state was exhausting."

The next few days after the surgery, Lama stayed with her mother in the hospital to support her, as she was the only one who was not working at the time.

She tried to pass the time by playing her mother's favourite games like backgammon and Sudoku. "My brother also brought a TV in case we were bored. Sometimes it became too much for me to handle that I had to leave the room for a breather. It hurts to see someone you love in this situation."

After the surgery came the chemotherapy. It was the hardest time for Lama because she did not want to see her mother in such a state. "The treatment lasted around six months. I tried to be there for her in every way but it was difficult because not only was I taking care of someone who was ill, but that someone was my mother," she said.

Lama spent most of her time taking care of her mother, even when Suad was asleep.

Lama said: "No matter how much it hurt to see her like that, I did not want to regret not spending time with her if the time ever came."

Dear Lama, may God bless you and to have patience to your family to come out from the hard time which you are going through, thanks for supporting your mother at the time when she really needed you. Spend most of your time with her and comfort her as this is the time for depression so if you are there she will come out of it very soon. Take care and be a caring child to your mom.
Nazneen Khan
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: March 27, 2009, 11:07