Coping With The Loss of a Loved One
- TLC’s June “Mama June” Shannon, 44, admitted on a recent episode of “Mama June: Family Crisis” that she worked hard to get her eldest daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell hospice care.
- Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell passed away on December 9, 2023, after nearly a year-long adrenal carcinoma (ACC) diagnosis. This type of cancer is also called adrenocortical cancer. It’s a rare cancer that starts in one or both small, triangular glands (adrenal glands) located at the top of your kidneys. Symptoms usually include stomach pain.
- Being a parent to a child with cancer is an emotional undertaking; make sure you’re checking in with yourself throughout, and taking care of your own mental health, too.
- Losing a loved one to cancer is an incredibly emotional time that comes with grief. The grieving process comes in stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling, and these stages can occur in any order.
- New York-based clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin says it may be helpful to remind yourself that these feelings are “meaningful yet temporary.”
Mama June, whose family took to fame when her daughter Honey Boo Boo were featured on the TLC show “Toddlers & Tiaras” back in 2011, has been on an emotional roller coaster since Cardwell was first diagnosed with adrenal car carcinoma, a rare cancer that starts in one or both of the small, triangular glands (adrenal glands) located at the top of your kidneys, according to the National Cancer Institute. Adrenal glands make the hormones that instruct every organ and tissue in your body.
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Referring to when Chickadee decided she needed hospice, Mama June said, “[Her husband] Eldridge brought her to my house at like, three o’clock this morning with her and the girls.
“She wanted me first thing this morning to call hospice, and that’s what I did.”
RELATED: What You Need to Know About Hospice Care
Mama June continued, “I moved mountains to get the doctors to finally sign off on hospice and I think that was the best decision that she made.”
The TLC star also said that although “some people” possibly thought her daughter was “giving up,” she insisted Cardwell understood her body was fatigued and want to “live out the rest of her days with her family,” as per People.
“It’s what Anna wanted. She wanted to be around family, and we’re giving her what she wants, and that’s how it’s gonna be,” Mama June added.
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We’re happy to see Mama June was supportive amid her daughter’s wants and needs during her cancer journey.
In an earlier interview [about six months before Cardwell’s passing] with Page Six, alongside her husband Justin Stroud, Mama June said, “there’s only a few doctors that treat” adrenal carcinoma, adding, “The couple of doctors here in the United States that treat it, I feel like, I’m not trying to be mean, are experimental doctors.”
At the time, the mom of four noted she didn’t want her eldest daughter “being an experiment project,” which is why she chose to undergo “very aggressive” treatment with “a cancer specialist.”
Further opening up on how Cardwell was handling cancer treatment to Entertainment Tonight, Mama June said, “Just depends on what day it is. She sleeps a lot. She doesn’t want to eat some days. There’s days where I don’t know [whether] to scream, get mad, or be happy. As her mom, we’ve had talks you don’t want to have with your child.
“We know what the endgame is and we are prepared for that. You’re never prepared, but we know what could happen. Her children know about it, the 10-year-old more than the 7-year-old.”
In addition to her mom and sisters, Cardwell has also had her daughters Kaitlyn and Kylee, along with her boyfriend Eldridge, by her side throughout treatment.
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Understanding Adrenal Carcinoma & Chickadee’s Cancer Battle
Cardwell revealed she was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma last year. This rare cancer starts in one or both of the small, triangular glands (adrenal glands) at the top of your kidneys. Adrenal glands make the hormones that instruct every organ and tissue in your body.
The mother of two underwent immunotherapy, which involves using the body’s own immune system to target cancer cells. Immunotherapy has shown great promise to help treat a wide range of cancers, according to Dr. Steven Rosenberg, Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute.
“Using a patient’s own immune cells is a very complex way to treat a cancer,” Dr. Rosenberg said. His team has developed methods for genetically modifying a patient’s own immune cells “to recognize the cancer in a new way” and to kill it. There have been major breakthroughs.
Cardwell, who also received chemotherapy to help treat her cancer and lost her hair as a side effect of treatment, passed away on December 9, 2023.
According to the National Cancer Institute, Adrenal carcinoma, also known as Adrenocortical carcinoma, is described as “a rare disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the outer layer of the adrenal gland.”
Some genetic conditions can increase a person’s risk of adrenocortical carcinoma and symptoms of the disease include pain in the abdomen or back, a lump in the abdomen, or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen, the institute explains. Additionally, the disease is diagnosed through imaging studies and tests to examine the urine and blood.
“Different types of treatments are available for patients with adrenocortical carcinoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer,” the NCI explains.
“When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.”
Genetic Testing What Is It and Why Is It Important?
“Different types of treatments are available for patients with adrenocortical carcinoma. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer,” the NCI explains.
“When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.”
The following types of treatment may be used for patients with adrenocortical carcinoma, and treatment varies from patient to patient: Surgery, Radiation therapy and Chemotherapy.
New types of treatment, which are undergoing clinical trial testing, include: Immunotherapy and Targeted therapy.
Hospice and Palliative Care
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), “Hospice care focuses on the care, comfort, and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life.”
Hospice care provides comfort care, but it does not attempt to cure the illness. It’s recommended families faced with potential hospice care talk to their care team early enough before pursuing hospice care to take advantage of all the comforts it provides.
“Starting hospice early may be able to provide months of meaningful care and quality time with loved ones,” the NIH says.
During palliative care, the patient is provided specialized medical care as they manage symptoms associated with their medical condition. This form of care may also provide treatment “intended to cure” the illness as opposed to hospice care which does not.
WATCH: Palliative care improves your overall treatment by focusing on comfort.
“It’s not the same thing as hospice. It’s really important to recognize that palliative care, whether provided by your oncologist or by a specialty palliative care team, is an important adjunct to your oncologic care,” Dr. Lisa Diver, a gynecologic oncologist and Medical Director at ImmunoGen tells SurvivorNet.
“It doesn’t mean that your doctor is going to stop treatment or even wants to talk about that, but simply that he or she thinks it’s important to support all aspects of your health. That could be pain control, [relief for] nausea or constipation, or mental health care. All of these other symptoms that commonly arise and are intertwined inextricably with your cancer care,” Dr. Diver added.
Dr. Scott Rushing, a gynecologic oncologist and surgeon with Compass Oncology, expands on this by saying that palliative care is meant “to try and optimize a patient’s quality of life.”
“Quality of life is something that we’ve always got to keep at front stage and center,” he previously told SurvivorNet. “Palliative care is a very important player in helping our patients have many good days.”
Dr. Rushing continues by saying that palliative care can transition to hospice care “when we have reached a point where we don’t have any therapy that we feel like is going to be effective.”
Research has been published showing the benefits of beginning palliative care early on in the course of treatment sometimes as soon as the initial diagnosis.
In 2016, based on results from a total of nine randomized clinical trials, one quasi-experimental trial, and five secondary analyses, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) issued a set of guidelines stating that “inpatients and outpatients with advanced cancer should receive dedicated palliative care services early in the disease course, concurrent with active treatment.”
Some oncologists have adjusted how they talk about palliative care because of the common misconception about it compared to end-of-life hospice care.
Dr. Ishwaria Subbiah, a medical oncologist and palliative care physician at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, shared a fascinating experiment from 2009 (published in 2011): rather than trying to eliminate the deeply ingrained end-of-life connotations of the term “palliative care,” Dr. Subbiah’s colleagues at MD Anderson decided to change the name altogether, rebranding their palliative care center as the “Supportive Care Clinic.”
“We found out that the name was a big barrier to referrals,” Dr. Subbiah said. “The name itself was a barrier to accessing our services.”
Within a year of changing the name, MD Anderson’s Supportive Care Clinic saw their referrals (that is, patients coming from their medical oncologists and tumor-directed cancer treatment to access their symptom management services) rise 41 percent. “And it has been consistently increasing in the double digits ever since,” Dr. Subbiah said.
Coping With A Child’s Cancer
When your child is diagnosed with cancer it may seem that the dreams you had for your family are falling apart. It’s important to to the best of your ability try to keep a level head after you’ve fully felt all of your emotions around the diagnosis.
You’re not alone in this journey your child’s oncologist and care team are there to guide you and provide information and answers. Oncological social workers are a fantastic resource to help you sort out the financial aspects of cancer treatment, as well as other cancer-related issues. Skilled psychologists and counselors can be accessed to help you maintain good mental health through your child’s cancer journey, to the best of your ability.
And, don’t be afraid to reach out to your support system friends, relatives, etc. for help through this process. No one expects you to handle everything on your own.
SurvivorNet wants you to know that grief may look different for everyone if you have lost a loved one.
The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These labels help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. These stages can also occur in any order.
The time it takes to navigate these stages can also vary, so giving yourself grace and patience while navigating your feelings is important.
“It often gets better over time, but on certain days, it can look like depression, and on other days, people look perfectly normal and can function,” Dr. Scott Irwin, a board-certified psychiatrist and Director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
Dealing With Grief Related to Health Problems
Dr. Irwin added that grieving people are coming to terms with “the change in their life; the future they had imagined is now different.”
New York-based clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin says it may be helpful to remind yourself that these feelings are “meaningful yet temporary.”
“If you approach them with compassion, kindness, and eventually acceptance, you will come away from this period in your life more connected to your resilience and strength,” she wrote for SurvivorNet.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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