Young Adult Cancer Canada > Community > News

Making Sense of the Cancer Experience

The following article is a great one about the young adult generation and how our needs and ways to connect are so different from older generations. It also works as a great bridge to YACC’s newest program Goaltender, which brings survivorship and social media connections to a whole new level!

“Earlier this year, Karen Paterson writing in Cure Today magazine went so far as to say that in the “realm of cancer support, social media websites…are no less revolutionary than, say, X-rays were for medical imaging: The new technology has changed everything. A pretty powerful statement wouldn’t you say?”

Read this full article on cancer support and social media websites.

Learn more about YACC’s cool, new, social media program - Goaltender

Posted on Sep 29, 2010 - 11:33 AM by Jessica

Discover the power of positive thinking

A confident, upbeat approach to life can lead to living loger and healthier.
By Bonnie Schiedel

It’s starting to get darker earlier every day. Another factory just announced a month-long shutdown. The news is an endless stream of alarming details about the economy, health crises, global security and the environment. No doubt about it: for many of us, this is a really tough time in a really tough year.

It may seem like it’s only logical to be blue and worried these days, but there is another option: positivity. Defined as a range of positive emotions (including love, appreciation, hope, resilience and gratitude), positivity can help you live a happy, productive and healthy life. “Trying times almost inevitably bring negativity,” writes Barbara L. Frederickson, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, in her new book, Positivity (Crown, 2009). “Unchecked, the narrowed mindsets of negativity can pull you in a downward spiral and drain the very life out of you.”

Frederickson, who has devoted most of her life to studying positivity, says this mindset can loosen negativity’s grip on your mental outlook and open your heart and mind to a broader range of possibilities. “As it does, it sets you on an upward spiral, a positive trajectory that cuts through dark times and leads you back to higher ground, stronger than ever.”

In short, positivity is about your attitude and approach to life: looking for the good in the world around you, hanging on to hope when life gets tough, making a contribution to the world and feeling optimistic about the future. If you embrace positivity on a daily basis you won’t be continually, blindly joyful – but you will be receptive to emotions and events that will make you happy.

Read more on the health benefits of being positive and learning how to be optimistic.

Posted on Sep 27, 2010 - 11:27 AM by Jessica

When cancer hits early

While this article deals with US statistics, the issues are the same for young Canadians dealing with cancer

Sept. 02—Amy Babst woke up in the middle of a summer night, and for 15 minutes, she was barely able to breathe. She called 911 and was rushed to the hospital, where a chest X-ray determined that she had a “ginormous” tumor squeezed between her lungs, she says. A biopsy later determined that the mass was malignant.

Four days later, on June 16, 2008, Babst gave birth to her first child. When the newborn, Kira, was just three weeks old, her mother started chemotherapy.

“It was awful,” says Babst, 25, of Linthicum, who now is in remission.

“I slept through most of the first year of my baby’s life. I had to stop breast-feeding her when I began chemotherapy. The opportunity to bond with my child was taken away from me. I worried that I wouldn’t live to see her grow up.”

While Babst’s medical needs were taken care of by the doctors and nurses at the University of Maryland Medical Center, she found few resources available to help her cope with the issues she faced as a young mother battling cancer. Because the vast majority of cancer patients are retirement age or older, most support services are focused on the challenges faced by an aging population.

But a recent development is helping to place a new focus on the problems experienced by young adults with cancer.

Read more on this article.

Posted on Sep 24, 2010 - 11:21 AM by Jessica

American College of Sports Medicine Issues New Guidelines on Exercise

By Lana Maciel, MD Anderson Staff Writer

For cancer patients undergoing treatment for their disease, doctors are offering a new kind of prescription—exercise.

Despite beliefs that patients should rest as much as possible during therapy, a new set of guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) indicates that exercise is actually beneficial for patients and survivors.

The ACSM’s message to avoid inactivity stems from a recent review of published studies on the safety and effectiveness of exercise during and after cancer treatment.

Learn more on the effect of exercise during/after cancer treatment.

Posted on Sep 22, 2010 - 11:10 AM by Jessica

Going back to work after Breast Cancer

A couple of weeks ago we were contacted by Lina Crossin about a really interesting service for young woman with breast cancer…Lina has been funded by Rethink Breast Cancer in offering a program called Cedars- a free employment counselling program for young women with breast cancer.

Have you been diagnosed with or treated for breast cancer?
Are you a young woman in your child-bearing years?
Are you struggling with career-related issues?

If you answered yes to all these questions then you’re eligible for cedars… the free employment counselling program to help you cope with the anxiety, confusion and uncertainty that can arise when you’re trying to build your career, or just hang on to a job, after a breast cancer diagnosis.

To learn more you can visit Soleil Counselling or consult the Cedars_Flyer.pdf
If you want to learn more about Lina take the time to read her Blog.pdf

Posted on Sep 21, 2010 - 07:00 AM by Karine

Kelly’s on YouTube

Invest 8 minutes and gain insight from a two-time survivor… we promise it will be 8 minutes of enlightenment.

Kelly, an advocate for young adult cancer issues, was diagnosed at age 11 with Hodgkins and then, at age 28 with breast cancer.

Kelly is an active member of our Young Adult Cancer Canada community and we are so proud to have her! Way to go Kelly!

Kelly recorded this video for Cancer View Canada.

Posted on Sep 20, 2010 - 12:33 PM by Lesley

Seeking a Second Opinion

A diagnosis of cancer can be scary, and understanding a treatment plan confusing. To gain more information, it is sometimes wise to seek a second opinion or advice from another qualified cancer specialist or group of specialists before or even after you begin treatment.

Learn more on seeking second opinions.

Posted on Sep 20, 2010 - 10:59 AM by Jessica