Monty M.

My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer about a week before my daughter was born and I became a dad. To better support my mother, my family decided to move to Houston. It was difficult to process becoming a dad and preparing to lose my mom: to say hello to one life and goodbye to another at the same time. At times it was overwhelming to deal with the life activities of becoming parents, moving, and our jobs.  

I first heard about CanCare while sitting in the waiting room at the hospital in the Woodlands during one of my mom’s trips there and saw a brochure for CanCare next to me. It looked interesting but I didn't think about it again until my wife mentioned it to me a little bit later. So, I signed up and began talking with a specialist. It was great to talk to someone... and just talk. Cancer, life, and anything else because all these things are so closely intertwined anyway.

Years later, I decided to become a volunteer and try to return the help that I had received earlier.

During my time as a volunteer, I had a memorable conversation with someone who just needed someone to talk to. In the end, he thanked me profusely and had said I was doing God's work. I had never been particularly religious, but I was happy, not for the compliment to me, but that he felt in that moment he had experienced something of that magnitude.

My words to pass along to anyone facing cancer… Carve out time in your day to just talk about what's on your mind, regardless of the specific topic. When you go through this process, everything can become a blur: medications, bills, appointments, family needs, finding quiet time, etc. It can help bring some focus and drain the noise away a bit.

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