Stupid Cancer
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Humor, Friendship and Young Adults with Advanced Cancer
Reading Time: 3 minutes My name is Megan Solberg, and I am a sixth-year doctoral candidate in the counseling psychology PhD program at the University of Denver. I currently live in Kansas City, Kansas
How can we improve cancer survivorship?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Like many, the lives of our study team have been affected by cancer: either as cancer survivors, family members and friends of cancer survivors, or caregivers. We often hear narratives
Cancer Survivorship and Disparities Among AYAs
Reading Time: 4 minutes I am an early-stage investigator in the Department of Health Disparities Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. I have been trained in the fields of psychology
The Chapter is Only Part of the Story
Reading Time: 2 minutes If someone used a book as a metaphor to describe living with cancer and cancer survivorship, I think many adolescents and young adults (AYAs) would suspect the book is full
Diliara’s Research Story
Reading Time: 3 minutes As a doctoral health communication student, I have always been interested in conducting applied research to translate my findings to develop interventions to help individuals in need in healthcare settings.
The Need for Affirmative Cancer Care
Reading Time: 2 minutes Thank you for giving me the space to share a bit about my story and my connections to the AYA cancer community. I am a psychology professor and psychologist committed
PSYCHO-SOCIAL PROBLEM : MY TIME WITH CANCER
Reading Time: 2 minutes I had just entered college with a big hope and new ambition. But had to stop after two months because I had a fever and cough, wasn’t responding to common
Vulnerability is Healing
Reading Time: 4 minutes For starters, I feel extremely overwhelmed with gratitude that I have an amazing support system. Many of my friends and family have been super understanding, loving and compassionate during my
Resilience & Connections
Reading Time: 2 minutes Six months after beginning chemotherapy, I was ushered to go back to work. Despite a half-year hiatus, I felt unready to deal with the real world. My mental health tremendously
CancerCon 2022
Reading Time: 2 minutes What a joy it was to be able to experience CancerCon. I won a Hotel Scholarship to experience it and I probably wouldn’t have been able to if not, at
Confidence with Cold Caps
Reading Time: 3 minutes I want to share my experience with cold caps and how they helped my journey with Cancer feel a bit more bearable. It gave me a sense of some control
My CancerCon Experience
Reading Time: 2 minutes I wish I was still at CancerCon. It was very helpful and meaningful for me. I miss all the new friends I made so very much. I really hope I
The Power of Belonging
Reading Time: 3 minutes While attending CancerCon Live this year, I was asked to describe Stupid Cancer in one word. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I’m very rarely at
My CancerCon Experience
Reading Time: 2 minutes The thought of traveling across the country to meet a bunch of strangers just seemed so out of my capabilities. I have been tied to doctors appointments and machines for
CancerCon 22
Reading Time: 2 minutes My first in-person CancerCon experience went well. I was nervous thinking about the trip. I do not travel much but I thought, “Why not try it out?”. I am happy
A TRIP I WILL FOREVER REMEMBER!
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cancer Con 2022. Wow! What can I say?! A WHOLE LOT. This was such an amazing opportunity and truly an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.
Cancer Again?!?
Reading Time: 4 minutes When I was 26, on December 1st, 2017, I was first diagnosed with a rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. To say that my body didn’t react to treatment well is
What Floor?
Reading Time: 2 minutes “What floor?” Words failed me. The elevator doors had closed but I found that I could not make the words come out. Sobbing uncontrollably and silently and trying to speak
Confessions of a Cancer Survivor
Reading Time: 2 minutes I used to be a firm believer that “everything happens for a reason.” While there are events in life that are too good to be a coincidence, sometimes things occur
Stupid Cancer, Stupid Thyroid
Reading Time: 2 minutes I first got involved with Stupid Cancer through my work as an oncology social worker. I support a lot of young adults newly diagnosed and trying to navigate their cancer
My Experience at CancerCon 2022
Reading Time: 2 minutes From the moment I arrived in Minneapolis, I was greeted with smiling faces and welcoming eyes at the conference. There was an underlying feeling of being accepted and showing up
Hope After Being Diagnosed with Cancer in a Pandemic
Reading Time: 2 minutes It all started on a Wednesday morning when I found the tumor. Just beforehand, I woke up early. I whipped up banana pancakes, jogged outside in the cool air, danced
If you’re reading this, go to Cancercon!
Reading Time: 2 minutes When I was diagnosed with stage four Adrenocortical carcinoma (in December 2019), I felt so alone. I was livid. I was terrified. I felt like I was being punished. All
From Cancer to Crowdfunding
Reading Time: 5 minutes All my life, at least since early high school, I was deliberate in trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It started in ninth grade with weight lifting and wrestling, being
Stupid Cancer is the Family We’ve Been Seeking for So Long
Reading Time: 4 minutes I will be completely honest in saying I was dreading going to CancerCon. The closer the dates got, the bigger the knot grew in my stomach. I spent a year