AYA Cancer Archives - Page 2 of 75

Still Here (A Letter to Cancer)

by Kristina Harshman February 11, 2026

Dear cancer, Your name and “dear” don’t belong together, I’m just being polite. You however, skipped the niceties altogether When you crept into my life

Dear Cancer, You Are Just a Chapter

by Mariah Powell

You tried it. You came in loud, messy, and ruthless—thinking you could scare me into silence, into surrender. You thought the diagnosis was the end of the story. Plot twist: I’m still here.

Desert Island

by Angela Campos February 9, 2026

Living with you is like being stuck on a desert Island while watching boats, yachts, and ships pass you by. People see you on this island, wave, maybe offer you words of encouragement, but no one dares to step foot on this cancerous island, well, no one chooses to anyway.

Dearest Death

by Sara Blair

You might be wondering how it is that I could sit here and write a love letter to you. Having you hover above my head, like a dark cloud, over the last 4 years.

Dear Cancer, Stay Away

by Mara Karapetian

Addressing you with an endearing title like “dear” seems inappropriate, and you also get the lowercase “c” most deservingly earned. Let’s not beat around the bush: I hate you.

Growing Pains

by Kat Jackson February 2, 2026

I thank you yet despise you for the aftermath of hell you reign over my life. Down to fragments, I hardly recognize what used to even be my life before abolishing everything I once used to know about myself.

Dear Cancer, Fuck You.

by Magen Schoonover

When I heard the theme, my mind went straight to Ted Lasso. Anyone else a fan? It’s a show that sneaks up on you—starts off light and funny, and then out of nowhere, punches you in the gut with emotion and heart.

Dear Cancer, I am Making Ashlynne Proud

by Lisa Mannes

I always wondered what I would say to you, if given the chance. I had it all planned out in my head, the hatred I had for you, the anger. I have sat down to write just to delete it, and write it again.

You Knew Me First

by Adrienne Holland Hubbard January 26, 2026

There’s so much to say, isn’t there? You knew me long before I knew you. An invisible string was always there, binding us to one another.

From Ghost to Girl

by Chelsey Gomez

Fight, flight, or freeze—they’re natural reactions to things that scare us. A tornado bearing down, a shadowy figure in the night, or, perhaps scariest of all, the thought of dying. For most people, death is just a passing thought, something far off in the future—until it’s not.