Fight Every Battle, Target Every Weakness

By Allison Bailey Olson, Melanoma Survivor, Diagnosed at 21

New York Times Op-Ed: Give Cancer Patients a Break on Student Loans

by AYA Cancer Survivor Rebecca Ritzel

No Ma’am

Sitting in the lobby of Capitol Hill offices in Washington is an interesting experience. For the first five years of my career I sat at the front desk in an office within the Cannon House Office Building and talked with constituents, welcomed guests, made sure my boss and the legislative staff knew when their…

Where to start…

The day I was diagnosed with cancer, no questions seemed to come to mind. But to be honest that diagnosis wasn’t unexpected.

The hematologist who met with us earlier in the day called me a few hours later to come in the next day for a bone marrow biopsy. What was the first…

#DayWithoutTheNursesof5A

When you are 27 and diagnosed with cancer you aren’t the typical cancer patient. When you are 27 and diagnosed with an acute leukemia not being “normal” has its downsides. The facilities are designed for older patients so there’s no streaming Netflix all day and sometimes you can make…

The Power of Community

By Erin Price Schabert and Kiersten Gallagher, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts

“You won’t understand the unabashed power of a community until you are in one.” –…

End-of-Life Care

The Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Journey

Let’s be honest. It isn’t fair, it isn’t right, and we wish like hell cancer had never come into your life. This is the part of cancer that no one wants to talk about but we are going to because…

Newly Diagnosed

The Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Journey

Yes, you are too young for cancer. It isn’t that you just aren’t mentally and emotionally prepared. Our cancer care and delivery system is designed to treat children and older adults. You are entering a…