Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens Eps 56: Beth Caldwell on Raising Kids While Living with Cancer
Welcome to an inspiring episode with my friend, Beth Caldwell. Beth is a mom of two, a former civil rights lawyer, and a blogger who lives in Seattle. In 2014, at age 37, Beth found a lump during a breast self-exam, which turned out to be metastatic cancer already in her bones. You’ll appreciate Beth’s genuine honesty about our topic today: as parents of young children, how do we deal with illness, trauma, death, and loss? What do we tell them? How much is TOO MUCH for them to handle? You don’t want to miss this conversation, so join us!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Beth’s cancer journey from finding the lump until now
- The feedback from Beth’s frank and open blog: 99% positive
- Currently, her cancer is in her brain, right arm, and liver
- New breakthroughs with new drugs
- The worst part of chemo? Fatigue
- How to talk to kids with age appropriate language about cancer
- Don’t hide the truth: share what’s important for them to know
- Her son’s recent speech about advocacy for better research
- How to be open and create a safe space for their questions
- Be mindful: don’t live in fear and trauma
- Why Beth insists on “planning ahead”
- How cancer affects your spouse
What does “joyful courage” mean to Beth? “Courage is not an absence of fear; it’s being afraid and doing it anyway.”
Resources:
www.cultofperfectmotherhood.com
"The Cat is Out of the Bag" Beth's son finds out she will die of her cancer
The Cancer that Wouldn’t Go Away by Hadassa Field
I Still Just Want to Pee Alone (series by Jen Mann and others, including Beth!)
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