Like sons, the dictionary definition of a daughter is quite simple: a female child or person in relation to her parents. When a parent is diagnosed with cancer, daughters often feel just as much pressure to support their family as sons do, although in a different form. Daughters feel the emotional stress that diseases, such as cancer, bring much more openly. I do not mean to stereotype; but it is merely fact that females express their feelings of fear, anger, and sadness much more freely than males do. As the females express their feelings and emotions, the rest of the family feels the need to support them. Daughters also play an integral role in providing support for the patient. Often they are able to connect better because they are more in touch with their deeper longer to please their parents.

Pieter was a very close family friend who was like a second father to me. He battled against cancer for six years. Throughout his journey, his three daughters, Jamie, Sharyn, and Ali, were his constant supply of support and happiness. Pieter was by far one of the funniest people I have met and his humor coupled with his daughters’ encouragement were the main things that kept him fighting in the darkest hours. His daughters always brought a smile to his face in a way that no one else seemed to be able to. The joy Pieter felt when his girls came to spend time with him was so deeply rooted in his love for his family. His daughters showed him in a way that is difficult to explain in words, that he had raised them to be strong, compassionate, successful women. Seeing this in his daughters gave Pieter the confidence that they would all be able to take care of each other once he was gone.

It has now been just more than two years after Pieter’s passing and his daughters are all doing so incredibly well, honoring their dad in everything they do. They constantly support each other and their mother, Cheryll, while raising their own young daughters in the same way that Pieter raised them.