Today  I am thinking about what it is like to have cancer when you are a young person.   By young I mean in your teens, twenties, and thirties.   While there are  common threads of fear and uncertainty, concerns and sorrows; the impact of a cancer diagnosis, treatments and post treament phases, is different for those who face these challenges early in life.  Sometimes you feel isolated from your peers. Your plans, the life you anticipated is suddenly turned upside down and you find yourself having to rethink your dreams.   You may have been finding your own independence only to have that interrupted by cancer, sometimes forcing you to depend more on family at a time when you are wanting to create your own life.  So many complex issues you just didn’t have on your radar.

Yet, this group is beginning to be acknowledged and resources are  cropping up to serve you and your peers.  There may be some groups in your area for young survivors such as yourself.  The young online community is especially helpful.

If you are a young survivor, please be encouraged to seek out support and contact with others who can understand and empathize with what you are going through.

www.stupidcancer.org

www.planetcancer.org

www.lbbc.org     Living Beyond Breast Cancer