A Mother's Struggle: Life Experiences And Challenges Of Mothers of Leukemic Children On Parenting.

Leukemia is the most common cancer in children, accounting for 101% of all children with cancer. Due to the improvement in the treatment and management of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, it was shifted from being a life-threatening disease to a chronic disease. this studied aimed to explore the life experiences and challenges faced by the mothers of children with leukemia. using a qualitative phenomenological research design and purposive sampling technique 10 mothers were evaluated with socio- demographic data, and thematic content analysis. results revealed that three main themes: family impact post-diagnosis, mental and emotional health impact, and day-to-day challenges in managing the child’s disease. Under family impact post-diagnosis, sub-themes include social life impacted, the child’s school experiences, and family dynamics and unaffected siblings. The theme of mental and emotional health impact encompasses sub-themes of affected child’s mental and emotional health, unaffected children’s mental and emotional health, and impact on parents’ mental and emotional health. Finally, the day-to-day challenge’s theme covers dietary restrictions and management, travelling and mobility challenges, and monitoring the child’s condition. These themes and sub-themes underscore the profound challenges faced by mothers of leukemic children.