“You’re at a hospital where there’s Barney painted on the wall and clowns walking around. It’s like being at a Disney resort sometimes. You feel kind of like, ‘This is ridiculous. I’m going through this experience, and I’m aware of what’s going on. I’m not a toddler.’ It’s hugely emotional.”

For young people dealing with cancer, the challenges are numerous: delayed diagnosis; tumours and cancers that don’t behave, or are unresponsive to chemotherapy and other treatments, as they do in other age groups; coping with hair loss, acne, weight gain, reduced sexuality or fertility; a lack of cancer treatment programs or centres specifically targeted to young people. “They’re pretty much almost this vulnerable, homeless population,” says Dr. Rod Rassekh, a pediatric oncologist at BC Children’s Hospital.

To read this full article please Click Here.

A cancer diagnosis at any age is devastating, but diagnosing and treating young adults is very challenging.

“A lot of my friends got—I don’t want to say scared—but I did lose quite a few of my friends that I had in high school. But then I did gain a lot of new friends, people who I had never spoken to before approached me and asked how I was doing, and those people now are still my friends.’‘

To read this full article please Click Here.

“If his mother hadn’t struck up a conversation with a stranger in a waiting room, Dan Shapiro would never have become the biological father of Alexandra, 13, and Abigail, 9. Dan was a 20-year-old junior in college when doctors diagnosed stage 2 Hodgkin’s disease. His treatment was to be six cycles of highly toxic chemotherapy followed by radiation.

Although more attention is now paid to loss of fertility among cancer patients, it is still too often overlooked by oncologists and patients, who may survive their disease but be left unable to reproduce. Neglect of fertility issues is especially common in cases involving children yet to reach puberty.”

Although this is an American article, which relates to American statistics, the issue of fertility is very real for any young adult dealing with cancer. This article shows the struggles young adult cancer survivors go through. To read the full article please Click Here.

Piled Higher & Deeper, the comic about procrastination in academia just posted a comic about a visit to MD Anderson Cancer Research Centre.

There’s a point where photos transcend- and this photo essay, “the Bride was Beautiful” decidedly meets that. 

From the Richmond Review:

Five months pregnant? Jen Luce couldn’t believe the initial diagnosis. She had been suffering bouts of nausea and fatigue, but this wasn’t a pregnancy—she had something else growing inside her.

Jen Luce is an amazing member of the YACC community. She has been to Retreat Yourself and several Survivor Conferences. Read the full article.

Breast Fest is seeking entries for a short film competition. Both filmmakers and those touched by breast cancer, directly or indirectly, are invited to produce a short video, film, animation, or PSA that sheds light on the issues surrounding breast cancer and breast health in unique and creative ways. Selected shorts will be posted on the festival website, www.breastfestfilmfest.com, in September, 2009, and the public will be asked to vote on their favourite. The winning entrant will be awarded a $1,500 cash prize and flown to Toronto to present his/her film at the Festival.