First Person // How our family lives with cancer
For almost a year, my little sister Anne has been battling leukemia. At times, our family’s life revolves around it. On days when Anne has an appointment for chemo, one of my parents has to drive her to the clinic at the University of Virginia.
ere have been weeks when Anne is really sick. For a while, her arms, legs, and body were alarmingly thin. We’ve also had emergency visits to the hospital because she had a fever. A few months ago, Anne stayed in the hospital for 25 days, with my parents switching o who was home and who was with her. It was tough to be home and going about my normal life when Anne was su ering there.
Sometimes I hate the questions the most. Well-meaning people ask, “How is she doing?” and don’t realize how di cult it is to answer, over and over again: “She’s still in the hospital.” I don’t know anything more than they do. (Note: a hug and “I’m thinking of you” is a great alternative for anyone dealing with a family illness.)
Other times, there’s guilt. It’s not me going through cancer, or sitting with Anne in the hospital room, so I feel like maybe I don’t have as much of a right to be sad. Some days, this cancer thing seems like a breeze. When Anne is home and happy, playing and watching movies and hanging out with us, it’s easy.
is is my senior year of high school, and it looks a lot di erent than I ever imagined. Like other kids my age, it’s a busy time as I
squeeze all the memories I can into my last year of childhood. I’ve also been helping my family as my parents devote so much time to taking care of Anne. I drive my siblings to school and o en pick them up from sports and such a er my a er-school activities. I’ve become a spokesperson for our family when people ask how we’re doing, or what they can do to help.
This year has been memorable, but not just for the classic end of high school experience. My mom has told me several times that this isn’t how she planned for my senior year to go. If anyone could have laid out our lives, they wouldn’t have chosen for Anne to go through this.
But it has been an experience that my whole family has gone through together. We’ve had really challenging times, but also happy days. I think we’ve all learned to enjoy the small triumphs. In the end, we are still a team, even if we’re pulled in a million di erent ways each day. Anne’s journey through cancer has fused us even closer.
One of my favorite moments from the past few months happened several weeks ago. I was sitting on the piano bench before bed, scrolling through my phone. Anne suddenly popped up and wrapped her arms around me. She held onto me tightly.
I turned my phone o , tossed it on the table nearby, and hugged her back.
‘If anyone could have laid out our lives, they wouldn’t have chosen for Anne to go through this. ’
Ava Genho is a senior at Rappahannock County High School