Waiting to adopt after cancer treatment but told to wait 5 years!

My sister was in the middle of the adoption process when after a medical found she found she had breast cancer. She had the all clear ( May 07 ) and has been told she has to wait 5 years before the can start the adoption process again. My Sister and her husband are upset, understand their logic,(not!) but its a long time to wait. Are all social services adoptions subject to that rule and if yes, then what about private adoption agencies?

Can anyone clarify this for me. I feel I need to give her hope as it seems a long time to wait and I hate to see her unhappy. I said I would investigate. Am I giving them false hope?

Thanks

Hazel

Re time

Hi
Just tell them to shop around with the adoption agencies. They all have variations in their rules.

L

xx

5 year all clear...

Hi there,

I was adopted when I was 6 weeks old. I believe the 5 year wait is there as it acts as a safety net, as it normally takes 5 years to get an offical all clear from cancer.

It is there to protect the child as well as the prospective parents. It does seem like a long time but it is in place for a reason and the Social Services should have explained this.

Alot of children come from broken, stressful homes, and to place a child into another potentianlly stressful situation is not what the Social Services want to do.

I would ring up Social Services and other agencies though as they can explain why this rule is in place and some may not have this rule so its worth asking around.

Hope it helps abit...

I don't think this is a good rule.....

...and i dn't think anyone else should think so either. If i were your sister and brothern in law i would definately have to find out who made that rule up. Who actually told them that they would have to start the process again? Is that a bit like that other rule where it depends where you live if you get IVF and how many goes you get!!