A Sippy Cup of Chemo

In a small Ontario town, an average family is faced with an ailing child and no answers. After several missed diagnoses, the family is sent to SickKids Hospital in Toronto. There, the devastating verdict is delivered: there is a cancerous tumour lodged in their 18-month-old son’s brain. This is much more than a story about a little boy battling cancer. It’s a story of a family confronted by the biggest challenge one can ever face. As they juggle the needs of their healthy child, their jobs, their finances, and even finding a place to sleep, they must learn to rely on a network of extended family, friends, and a giving community. It’s a story of a loving couple whose relationship is tested beyond the boundaries of normal who come to support each other in their contradictory impulses to fight their son’s cancer at all costs or to accept the inevitable outcome that awaits him. It’s a story about parents who are forced to take on the roles of nurse, pharmacist, therapist, researcher and advocate in a world filled with experts who don’t know their young patient on a profound or personal level. It’s a story about a non-religious couple who come to believe with absolute certainty that there is life after death and that their wonderful son may have passed from this life, but still exists and gives them courage from another. Finally, it’s a story about the legacy of courage and hope that Shawn leaves within this circle of people; a legacy of helping other families struggling through this journey who need to realize that they are not alone. All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Meagan's Walk (www.meaganswalk.com) benefiting the global leader in pediatric brain tumour research; The Brain Tumour Research Centre inside of SickKids Hospital.

In a small Ontario town, an average family is faced with an ailing child and no answers. After several missed diagnoses, the family is sent to SickKids Hospital in Toronto. There, the devastating verdict is delivered: there is a cancerous tumour lodged in their 18-month-old son’s brain. This is much more than a story about a little boy battling cancer. It’s a story of a family confronted by the biggest challenge one can ever face. As they juggle the needs of their healthy child, their jobs, their finances, and even finding a place to sleep, they must learn to rely on a network of extended family, friends, and a giving community. It’s a story of a loving couple whose relationship is tested beyond the boundaries of normal who come to support each other in their contradictory impulses to fight their son’s cancer at all costs or to accept the inevitable outcome that awaits him. It’s a story about parents who are forced to take on the roles of nurse, pharmacist, therapist, researcher and advocate in a world filled with experts who don’t know their young patient on a profound or personal level. It’s a story about a non-religious couple who come to believe with absolute certainty that there is life after death and that their wonderful son may have passed from this life, but still exists and gives them courage from another. Finally, it’s a story about the legacy of courage and hope that Shawn leaves within this circle of people; a legacy of helping other families struggling through this journey who need to realize that they are not alone. All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Meagan's Walk (www.meaganswalk.com) benefiting the global leader in pediatric brain tumour research; The Brain Tumour Research Centre inside of SickKids Hospital.

Sue McKechnie learned her young son, Shawn had a brain tumour in May of 2006. When he passed away 18 months later after the rollercoaster of diagnosis, treatment, hope and terminal illness, she realized that even though he was gone from this world, he continued to send her courage from another. The message was clear – get out there and help other families sharing this journey. Since then Sue has written the book ‘A Sippy Cup of Chemo; A Family’s Journey Through Childhood Cancer’ hoping to spread the message to other bereaved families that they are not alone. All the proceeds from her book are donated to Meagan’s Walk; benefitting research at the Brain Tumour Research Centre inside SickKids Hospital, the leading pediatric brain tumour research centre in the world. In 2015 Sue decided to devote herself to being a full time advocate for funding and awareness of childhood brain tumours through her work with Meagan’s Walk (www.meaganswalk.com). Sue is also the Canadian editor of the Childhood Cancer Section on the Cancer Knowledge Network website, one of most read cancer websites globally.