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Maki8
Maki8 Member Posts: 1
edited July 2016 in Family and Family Planning Matters

I was diagnosed with BC in February. Had double amputation in March, and recently completed 4 rounds of the Red Devil. The side effects have me completely incapacitated at times. Husband is not able to take FMLA from work. We have no family in the area. What do people do for childcare with cancer? We can barely afford the medical bills much less childcare for three children. I am so frustrated. I have 12 rounds of Taxol, 7 weeks of radiation, and reconstructive surgery to go. I feel so defeated.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited June 2016

    Hi Maki and welcome to Breastcancer.org!

    You pose a really good question, and one our members are sure to have some advice and suggestions for! Our Community is incredibly helpful and supportive, and we are happy you found us.

    While you wait for responses, you may be interested in checking out the main Breastcancer.org site's Paying for Your Care section, which could help you offset some of your medical costs which you could redirect toward your childcare. There's also a very informative page on Help Paying for Living Expenses, including childcare.

    We hope this helps and we look forward to hearing more from you soon!

    --The Mods

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  • Icietla
    Icietla Member Posts: 1,265
    edited June 2016

    Hi Maki8. I am so sorry to hear you are feeling poorly and have these other worries also.

    Check with your local School System to see if they have something in the nature of an all-day summer child care program.

    Check with your local Public Library to see what summer programs they have for children.

    Check with Salvation Army. I know that they used to have an excellent all-day child care program in the summers.

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  • ElaineTherese
    ElaineTherese Member Posts: 3,328
    edited June 2016

    Hi!

    I'm sorry that chemo is wiping you out. One thing that you could do is to delay reconstruction until the kids are back in school. That will lessen the amount of time you are "out of service."

    I have no family in the area where we live either. However, a friend set up a webpage at Lots-a-Helping Hands where I could post needed services and people could sign up to help while I was doing chemo. It was a lifesaver.

    Another thought: do you belong to a church? One of my friends from church was a huge help with my oldest daughter, driving her to and from various activities.

    Finally: does your school system offer summer school? Even if was just for a few hours a day, it might allow you to get some rest while your kids are getting some educational enrichment.

    Hope you find some help soon!

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  • Skittlegirl
    Skittlegirl Member Posts: 428
    edited July 2016

    I was dx right at the start of school. Two of our 3 kids were in school full days. Their before and after school care program gifted us free hours when we needed it.

    Our son was already in daycare. We opted to continue to send him to daycare to help keep his life as normal as possible.

    I was off work from the end of September to the beginning of March for my chemo and then surgery recovery.

    My bad days following chemo landed on a Saturday and Sunday (bad timing for having the kids home) so I would see if anyone wanted to have the older 2 over for a playdate for a few hours to give my husband a break. They would go to people from church or my co-worker's house to play with their kids.

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