Mom Explains Why She Will Never Deny Her Toddler Daughter Starbucks Coffee During Her Cancer Treatment
Having cancer is already hard enough.
Zhukova Oksana | Shutterstock After a mom shared a video of her toddler sipping on a Starbucks frappuccino from her hospital bed while receiving cancer treatment, some people expressed concern about the sick little girl having such a sugary drink. However, the mom has a perfectly valid reason for allowing her child to indulge when she can. Unless you've had a child with cancer, you can't truly understand the difficult choices you're forced to make, and this mom thinks her critics should keep their opinions to themselves.
The mom said that she will never deny her toddler Starbucks ‘coffee’ during her cancer treatments since it is one of the only things she is able to keep down.
The mom’s world was rocked when her daughter, Lilah, was diagnosed with ATRT, an aggressive form of brain cancer, at just 18 months old. According to a GoFundMe page organized by her sister-in-law, Lilah’s treatment consists of three months of chemotherapy and three months of stem cell treatment.
Anyone who has endured chemotherapy knows it’s not for the weak. One of the primary symptoms patients experience is nausea and vomiting. Some of them find relief from only specific types of food or drinks. For Lilah, it was coffee! Of course, the “coffee” is usually just milk or, her favorite, a non-caffeinated frappuccino.
Lilah’s mother shared a video on TikTok of the toddler in her hospital bed happily sipping on a vanilla bean frappuccino with caramel drizzle. “How Lilah starts her day: chemo and coffee,” the mom shared in the text overlay of the video.
The mom also shared in the comments section that Lilah often does not have much of an appetite during and after chemo, and this "coffee" is one of the only things she can tolerate.
Despite the circumstances, critics still expressed their concern over the ingredients of the drink, noting the carcinogens in it that could potentially cause more cancer.
Sometimes, the internet can be a place where even a video of a little girl having a moment of joy amidst tragedy can be twisted into something negative. This was no exception. This mom has now been forced to defend her parenting because critics who have no knowledge of the toddler's medical treatment felt the need to weigh in.
She explained in a follow-up video why she will never deny her daughter any kind of food or drink she wants while she’s going through chemo. In fact, she said that the chemo is more likely to cause secondary cancer than anything else.
“Let that sink in. Her chemo, that is killing her brain cancer, is more likely to give her another cancer down the road. And if that makes you angry, it should make you angry,” the mom shared.
Chemotherapy has been linked to many long-term health problems, including infertility and early menopause.
Childhood cancer research is insufficiently researched, with federal funding allocated to it at only around 4% of the total cancer research budget. This means that improved treatment options that might be far less detrimental to a child's overall health than chemotherapy are not studied with the same frequency as adult cancer treatments.
Until there comes a day when cancer patients do not have to endure such excruciating treatments just to survive, they should be able to treat themselves with the food and drinks their bodies can tolerate.
“I always used to tell my patients that any food is good food during treatment. If you can only eat ice cream every day, then eat that ice cream,” one TikTok user commented. “Baby can have whatever food she wants for being so brave! And she’s still so cute!” another user wrote. “As a fellow cancer patient, getting calories in during treatment is what's most important. Drinking them is perfectly fine,” another shared.
According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 70 to 80% of cancer patients going through chemotherapy will experience nausea and vomiting. If sugary frappuccinos are the only things they can enjoy without feeling sick, they should absolutely allow themselves to indulge in them!
To learn more about Lilah’s story and to help advocate for more childhood cancer research, visit her mom’s Facebook page.
Megan Quinn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.
