A part of our new mission statement is “to support young adults living with, through, and beyond cancer,” and that’s what a lot of our focus will be on for the month of September. We love seeing YACCers go back to work, start families, finish degrees, buy new homes, travel, advocate on behalf of other YAs affected by cancer, and generally do things that add up to a fulfilled life where cancer is no longer a main concern.
Moving beyond the experience doesn’t mean it’s not a part of you anymore, or that YACC isn’t the right place for you. The end of our mission statement is “Any cancer, any stage, YACC’s got your back,” and anyone who has attended a YACC event has undoubtedly heard about the YACC family, and how we consider you a part of the group for life.
To paraphrase one 10-year survivor at our recent Survivor Conference: “361 days a year, I’m a father, husband, teacher, friend, son, etc. Four days a year, I need to be the cancer survivor.”
We’d love to hear your thoughts on life after cancer: How is it different? How did you recognize the shift? What lessons/fears/actions do you now carry? Send your blog posts, photos, graphic interpretations, poems, videos, etc. to [email protected]!
