Two new CancerCare fact sheets address the unique challenges of facing cancer as a young adult.

“Coping with Cancer as a Young Adult,” addresses topics that include preserving fertility, disclosing a diagnosis to an employer, and managing physical changes. “Young Adults as Caregivers,” provides helpful tips on caring for a loved one with cancer while also caring for yourself.

Both of these fact sheets can be ordered through our website, and are available completely free of charge.

Along with our publications, we offer free, professional counseling for young adults, including online and face-to-face support groups, moderated by a CancerCare oncology social worker. Learn more about how we help young adults affected by cancer.

You can still help us meet our goal of raising $10,000 by making a donation to our team at www.cancercare.org/revlonrunwalk. All funds raised benefit our free support services.

Danielle Marquez, CancerCare oncology social worker and member of CancerCare's EIF Revlon Run/Walk team

For women affected by breast cancer, CancerCare offers individual counseling, breast prosthesis clinics (available at our national office in New York City), and support groups (available over the telephone, online, and face to face). Learn more about our breast cancer resources, including our upcoming Connect Education Workshop, Update on Ductal Carcinoma in Situ.

CancerCare’s services for women affected by ovarian cancer include telephone and online support groups as well as our toll-free L’Oreal Paris OCRF Helpline, which is staffed by professional oncology social workers. View all of our ovarian cancer resources. For women affected by cervical cancer, we offer a telephone support group.

Founded in 1944, CancerCare helps anyone, anywhere in the United States, affected by cancer. To learn more, call 800-813-HOPE (4673) or visit www.cancercare.org.

For the past four years in June, families in the New York-metro area who have lost a loved one to cancer have come to CancerCare’s Healing Hearts Bereavement Camp to play games, swim,fish, and go horseback riding. But more than that, they’ve found strength and support in each other.

That’s what the camp has meant to Carole, 49, and her 7-year-old daughter, Jane. Carole lost her husband in March 2010 to esophageal cancer when Jane was 5. Having attended the camp for two consecutive years, they recalled how comforting it felt to be with other families and have fun despite the sadness and loss.

“For the kids to know that they can still have fun is important, even though they all knew why they were at the camp,” Carole said. Returning to the camp last year helped them see how far they had come in the grieving process. Carole said she remembered the “rawness” she felt during the first year after her husband’s death and could see how much she and Jane had changed.

Another advantage for families coming back, said Kathy Nugent, LCSW, Director of Social Services at CancerCare’s New Jersey office, is that they can provide hope for those families who are recently bereaved.

“The camp gives families, adults and children alike, the opportunity to share their stories in a relaxed atmosphere and have fun at the same time,” says Kathy.  ”It’s amazing to see how the children bond with each other, knowing that there are other kids who understand what they are going through.”

Learn more about CancerCare‘s free services for children affected by cancer.

“Don’t be afraid to use the word ‘cancer’ when talking to your children,” says CancerCare professional oncology social worker Nicole DiMartino. “If they aren’t told the truth, they might imagine that things are worse than they really are, or even that they themselves are the cause of the cancer.”

CancerCare offers tips for communicating with children about cancer in our updated fact sheet, “Helping Children Understand Cancer: Talking to Your Kids About Your Diagnosis.” Among the suggestions offered:

• Give your children accurate, age-appropriate information. If you don’t talk to your kids about cancer, they may invent their own explanations.
• Set the tone. Use a calm, reassuring voice even if you become sad. This will help children see that you are trying to cope, and help them do the same.
• Allow children to participate in caregiving. Give them age-appropriate tasks, such as bringing the person with cancer a glass of water or extra blanket. These small gestures are meaningful ways for children to provide comfort and demonstrate their love.

Read the fact sheet, or order free copies.

Talking to children about cancer isn’t easy, but CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers are here to help. We offer free services that help families cope with a cancer diagnosis, including counseling, support groups, and publications. 

Learn more about how we help children cope with a cancer diagnosis.

Register for the workshop.

Rick is a professional oncology social worker with an expertise in mind/body practices. A 22-year cancer survivor, Rick was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He underwent six months of aggressive chemotherapy, and later underwent a bone marrow transplant with bone marrow given from his sister.

Rick first came to CancerCare as a client, and participated in a support group for young adults coping with cancer. Interacting with other support group members helped Rick realize he wasn’t alone in his journey. The group gave him emotional support as well as valuable insight into his diagnosis and life after treatment. Rick was so inspired by the experience that he enrolled in graduate school at Columbia University to pursue a career in oncology social work.

Between his first and second years at Columbia, Rick traveled to India, where he spent the summer volunteering at Mother Teresa’s clinic in Calcutta. His experience in India was “transformative,” Rick says, and helped him find a “soulful peace and deeper connection to all of life.”

He joined CancerCare as a professional oncology social worker in 1997, moderating the support group he’d previously attended. As CancerCare’s Mind/Body Project Coordinator, Rick incorporates practices such as yoga and meditation into his counseling to help people cope with difficult emotions and find a sense of peace.

Rick recently answered questions about using mind/body practices to cope with cancer as an “Ask CancerCare” featured expert.

Learn more about CancerCare’s resources on mind/body and relaxation practices.

The series will take place on Tuesdays, from 1:30-2:30 pm Eastern Time – April 24, May 15, June 19 and July 17. You can listen to these workshops on the telephone or via live streaming through the internet.

This free series is made possible by support from the National Cancer Institute and LIVESTRONG and offers cancer survivors, their families, friends and health care professionals practical information to help them cope with concerns that arise after treatment ends.  

Part I, Using Mind/Body Techniques to Cope with the Stress of Survivorship, will be presented on April 24th.  

The faculty for this program includes:

• Richard Dickens, MSW, Survivor Perspective, Clinical Supervisor, Mind/Body Project Coordinator, CancerCare 
• Lorenzo Cohen, PhD, Professor and Director, Integrative Medicine Program, Departments of General Oncology and Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center 
• David Spiegel, MD, Jack, Lulu and Sam Willson Professor in the School of Medicine, Associate Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine

Subsequent workshops in the series are:  

• Part II, Recapturing Joy and Finding Meaning– May 15th 
• Part III, Changing Roles and Responsibilities for Caregivers– June 19th 
• Part IV, Managing Post-Treatment Neuropathy– July 17th 

These workshops are free – no phone charges apply.  However, pre-registration is required.  To register, and for more information, simply go to the CancerCare website, www.cancercare.org/connect

Along with advances in pain medication treatments, emotional and practical support have been shown to help patients better manage their pain and experience a better quality of life, notes Miller. Also beneficial are “skill-based interventions” such as learning meditation techniques or yoga.

Miller’s article cites the results of a recent study that found patients were able to better control their pain after learning about pain management techniques from their health care team members, or from reading educational materials.

Read the article.

CancerCare provides pain-management information in our free publications, Controlling Cancer Pain: What You Need to Know to Get Relief, and “Opening the Door to Effective Pain Management.” Leading medical experts also addressed pain-management techniques during CancerCare’s Connect Education Workshop, “Coping with Cancer Pain: What You Need to Know.”

Learn more about CancerCare’s free resources about pain management.

Read about mind/body and relaxation techniques in our free fact sheet, “Relaxation Techniques and Mind/Body Practices.”

CancerCare also offers in-person mind/body workshops at our national office in New York City, led by a professional oncology social worker.

Register for these upcoming free workshops:

• Guided Imagery; April 10, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
• Restorative Yoga; April 24, 12:00-1:00 p.m.

A cancer diagnosis is most often unexpected—which is especially true for young adults in their 20’s or 30’s. While it is rare, cancer is diagnosed in more than 70,000 young adults (ages 18-39) each year.

Kathryn’s strong feelings for Jonah convinced her to stay by his side, no matter what. And so she found herself in a role taken on by many young adults: being a caregiver for a loved one with cancer. It’s a role most are not prepared for.

CancerCare recently hosted a wellness event for twenty young adult patients and survivors, caregivers, and the bereaved at our national office in New York City. Our professional oncology social workers provided practical information and resources that address issues unique to young adults coping with cancer.

Kathryn recalls finding it difficult to balance her caregiving responsibilities while maintaining her own schedule and lifestyle as a young adult. She often felt alone, and that cancer was an all-consuming aspect of her life.

Kathryn turned to CancerCare, attending a support group for young adult caregivers. Her peers and oncology social worker helped her work through her feelings of isolation, and she in turn became a better caregiver to Jonah. Today, Jonah and Kathryn are married and living in Brooklyn. The couple recently celebrated the three-year anniversary of their relationship.

Read Jonah and Kathryn’s story of help and hope.

CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers understand the unique challenges and concerns of young adults coping with a cancer diagnosis. We offer individual counseling, as well as online and face-to-face support groups specifically for young adults.

Learn more about our free services for young adults.

CancerCare’s latest Connect Booklet, Understanding and Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects, offers practical information on managing side effects so that treatment goes as smoothly as possible.

Read the booklet to learn how to manage various side effects, including:

• nausea and vomiting
• hair loss
• mouth sores
• peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage)
• and fatigue.

To order free copies of the booklet, call 800-813-HOPE (4673) or use the online order form on our website.

CancerCare also offers more than a dozen Connect Education Workshops on managing various side effects, which can be replayed as podcasts. View the workshops and learn more about our free resources on coping with side effects.

Read the article.

Melanoma is a risk even for those who abstain from tanning beds. Jonah E. of Brooklyn, NY came to CancerCare for help after being diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 28. He met with an oncology social worker for free counseling, and learned ways to cope with his anxiety and fears. Today, he is better able to manage the emotional challenges of his diagnosis.

Read Jonah’s story of help and hope.

CancerCare’s Melanoma Helpline is staffed by professional oncology social workers and provides reliable information, emotional support, and helpful resources to people facing melanoma. Call the Melanoma Helpline at 877-MRF-6460 (877-673-6460).

Along with counseling and our helpline, CancerCare also offers free publications, including Treatment Update: Melanoma. Our free fact sheet, “Staying Safe in the Sun,” provides tips on protecting your skin from sun damage. We also offer Connect Workshops that can be replayed as podcasts, including “Advances in the Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma.”

Learn more about the free services we offer to people facing melanoma.