Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Our lives have completely been turned upside down in the last 48 hours. Our 16-year-old son was admitted to the hospital late Wednesday night, diagnosed with cancer Thursday morning, had surgery Thursday afternoon to remove a tumor, and will be starting chemotherapy on Tuesday. It has completely blindsided us. We are taking solace in the fact that his cancer is the more easier to treat than the 2 types of cancer the oncologist initially thought he might have. He has testicular cancer and while we still don’t know the complete pathology, the oncologist feels that chemotherapy will be very effective in wiping out the few spots of cancer that have spread to other parts of his body.

We have been overwhelmed by the amount of love and concern his friends, coaches, and teachers have shown him. His friends have done so much to keep his spirits up, three of them missing school Friday to be with him at the hospital. And words cannot express how grateful I am to his tennis coach who has loved my son as one of his own children as he does all the kids he coaches. Not to mention how wonderful my mother has been and my dear, dear brother who I know would do anything in the world for my son.

The doctors and nurses at Presbyterian Children’s Hospital in Charlotte have been truly, truly amazing. They have made such a horrible situation so much easier to bare. This is such uncharted territory for us and obviously all of my time and energy will be focused on my son and my daughter these next few months. How much time I will dedicate to my blog, I’m not sure. I may be spending much less time on it, or I may need it as an outlet more than ever. I just don’t know.

One thing I do know is that homemade foods can play such an important role during difficult life times. They have an amazing ability to comfort and are a way for people to express their love and concern. These cookies are the last sweet treat my son enjoyed before his diagnosis. He has always been a huge food lover and one of my favorite people to cook for. I am hoping he is still able to enjoy food while he goes through his chemo.

Recipe Source: slightly adapted from Coastal Living Cookbook

More Peanut Butter Treats

Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips