The Challenges of Parenting with Cancer

One thing most parents can agree on is that it’s hard to find time to take care of yourself while raising a family. There’s a reason they say “it takes a village.” If you’re feeling the added stress of caring for your family while navigating cancer, or caring for someone who is, you are not alone.

Dealing with unknowns, explaining a diagnosis or treatments to your kids, traveling for treatments, and caring for them when you are feeling fatigued or nauseous―all of this impacts your emotional and physical well-being.

In this joint session, we partner with Knight’s Cabin to discuss the challenges of parenting with cancer. Sarah O’Brien from Shift Psychological provides some useful tools to help, then two mothers affected by cancer, Marina Rosta and Julie Rohr, share their experiences.

Event: Inspiring Speakers Series

Date: April 22, 2021

In partnership with: Knight’s Cabin

Presented by: CPA Alberta

About our Inspiring Speakers

Sarah O’Brien, Registered Provisional Psychologist at Shift Psychological

Sarah is a Registered Provisional Psychologist at the Shift Psychological office in Calgary. She has worked in both the mental health and wellbeing field and the medical field, thanks to a background in nursing, before going back to school to become a psychologist. Combined, she has over a decade of experience in these fields. She lives in Calgary with her husband and young son, and she has a passion for helping women of all ages and backgrounds.

Julie Rohr, Knight’s Cabin Board Secretary, Social Advocate & Mother Living with Cancer

Julie Rohr is a photographer, writer, serial volunteer, and community connector. Her husband, David, and their two boys, Jacob and Max, are the loves of her life. Julie graduated from the Grant MacEwan journalism program and has not stopped asking questions since. In November of 2015, Julie was diagnosed with a rare cancer called leiomyosarcoma, and has undergone a litany of surgeries and treatments. In addition, she is a valued member of the Knight’s Cabin board of directors.

Marina Rosta, Compassion House Foundation Ambassador, Single Mother & Cancer Survivor 

Marina Rosta is 56 years old, born in British Columbia, and a RCMP brat, so she moved all over the country. She has always been healthy and athletic, eaten well, never smoked, and never done drugs. She has no history of breast cancer in her family on either side. She lives in Jasper and is the General Manager of a very busy hotel. In July 2019, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery in September and began 25 rounds of radiation in December. She finished her treatment in January 2020, went right back to work, and has been cancer-free since then.