YA Cancer

Cancer Connections

I have been diagnosed with cancer twice in the space of 8 years. Both times I have felt a real need to find others who have been through the same type of cancer to me.

Ask Me About My Sleeve

“Why do you have a sleeve on one arm?”

It’s a fair question, I suppose. Not many people wear one sleeve at a time. And yet, one look and I can feel the distance between us.

Too Much, Too Soon

I used to think the hardest part of dating after cancer would be finding someone willing to. I didn’t think anyone would want me anymore—I was changed, insecure, and utterly, profoundly afraid. I was twenty-five and already my body had failed me; already I’d had my head sheared, my body drilled into and scarred.

How My Experience with Thyroid Cancer Affects Relationships

I think sometimes after we have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer it means that it doesn’t directly affect connecting with others who had a similar thyroid cancer who are in the AYA Community.

Survivorship and Connection After Cancer

“But you’re so young! You’re so healthy!”

These were the words I’d hear most often not long after my cancer diagnosis at the age of twenty-five.

Everything Doesn’t Happen for a Reason

It may be common to tell someone struggling with a cancer diagnosis that “everything happens for a reason,” but I don’t agree and think it is a rather rude thing to say, at least for my type of cancer.

He Laughed

He laughed. How could he laugh? I just divulged my most kept secret and he laughed. When someone tells you they have cancer, laughing should not be your first response. Well, I guess this isn’t going anywhere…

Life is Too Short Not to Let Yourself Change Your Mind

Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I had always wanted to be a doctor. And honestly, this dream held up for many years after. But cancer shifted my axis. I was in and out of school. I didn’t know if I’d graduate high school.

Meaning in the Rubble

Just a few months before my diagnosis, at 29, I felt like I could do anything. That same year, I was featured in the Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 issue, served on multiple nonprofit boards, and managed a national network of nonprofits.

No Reason

Everything happens for a reason. Oh, you mean that perhaps I needed to be taught a lesson? Let’s explore that.