162: Bhavika Taunk cared for her son, diagnosed with leukemia

1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 162: Bhavika Taunk cared for her son, diagnosed with leukemia | pediatric cancer &nbsp; For Bhavika Taunk, life took a radical turn in 2017 when her four-year-old son, Kabir, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.&nbsp; After a bone marrow transplant, he went on an aggressive chemotherapy regimen for two years.&nbsp; Kabir relapsed twice, but has been in remission since 2020.&nbsp; Bhavika tells the story of how she cared for her son and how she reaches out to other parents of children diagnosed with cancer. &nbsp; Bhavika, her husband and two young sons returned from a Disney cruise in April 2017, and both sons felt sick.&nbsp; While her two-year-old son soon got well, things went from bad to worse for four-year-old Kabir.&nbsp; He complained of bone pain, first in his wrists, then his ankles, to the extent that he could not walk.&nbsp; Then he suffered from intermittent fevers and appetite loss. &nbsp; Kabir was taken to a hospital, where after blood tests, Bhavika was told that a bad virus had settled into her son’s bone marrow and that he had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.&nbsp; She called her husband with the awful, collapsed on the floor and cried.&nbsp; Bhavika said this was the most life-changing event of her life. &nbsp; She went on to say the degree of helplessness accompanying such a diagnosis is overwhelming.&nbsp; Up until Kabir’s diagnosis, she thought she could fix anything in his life that presented a challenge.&nbsp; Bhavika says the biggest lesson with a child’s cancer diagnosis is the total lack of control and it is the worst imaginable feeling. &nbsp; Bhavika says when caring for a child with cancer that words are very important.&nbsp; She stresses that she doesn’t believe in “hollow encouragement because it is very invalidating to the patient.”&nbsp; She says a parent cannot tell their cancer-stricken child that everything is going to be okay. &nbsp; Kabir has been in remission since 2020, but still requires a great deal of attention and medical care. &nbsp; Bhavika Taunk wants very much to come to the aid of parents of a child diagnosed with cancer.&nbsp; She advocates for parents of Facebook and Instagram, while strenuously calling for increased funding for pediatric cancer patients. &nbsp; Additional Resources: &nbsp; Bhavika on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bhavika.v.taunk &nbsp; Bhavika on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btaunk/ &nbsp; Bhavika’s small business supporting pediatric cancer: Birdsong Tea – Tea With A Purpose &nbsp; &nbsp; Cancer Interviews http://cancerinterviews.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/39572370/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/39572370