Melissa Waller couldn’t believe her ears.After experiencing pain in various parts of herbody formonths, shewas diagnosedwith stageIV lung cancer (adenocarcinoma) at the age of31. The news cameafter roughly fivemonths ofmedical testing, the result of recurring backand tailbone pain and bouts of pneumonia thatstarted in 2008.Not so long ago, young patients like Melissa

met an additional challengewhen facing a can-cer diagnosis—a lack of resources geared to-ward the issues specific to young adults.Melissa’s ability to copewith the diseasewouldhave been limited by the few resources avail-able to her as a young adult and by the size ofher ownpersonal “support” team.Now, thanksto advances in the number of psycho-socialnetworks, Web sites, and support groups de-veloped for young adult patients, Melissa has amuch deeper pool of support to draw from asshe adjusts to the new reality ofmoving forwardas a young woman living with cancer.And moving forward is just what Melissa

hopes to do. A Phoenix resident, she continuesto enjoy life, despite the physical impact and theside effects of treatment. She maintains ahealthy, long-term relationship with herboyfriend,Wes, has a large circle of friends, andcontinues to be employed as an interactive de-velopment sales manager for a large firm (al-though she is currently on long-termdisability)that provides her comprehensive healthcarecoverage.

Melissa is also thankful for the support shereceives from the staff at Cancer TreatmentCenters of America (CTCA) atWesternRegionalMedical Center in Goodyear, where she hasbeen receiving treatment since June. She hasdeveloped friendships with many of the staffand receives psycho-social support as part ofCTCA’s integrated approach to cancer care.But though her friends and caregivers have

been extremely supportive, Melissa acknowl-edges the difficulties of her newnormal. “Imissmy colleagues and even the challenges andstresses of the work environment,” Melissasays. Being diagnosed with cancer, she adds,has “completely turnedher life inside out,” par-ticularly when it comes to planning for the fu-ture—a privilegemany of us take for granted.Early on, uncertainty about the futurewas the

focus ofmuch of herworry,as Melissa was forced tomake decisions about fer-tility. “The issue of fertilitywas one of my first con-cerns,” she says. Con-fronted with the decision ofwhether to freeze an embryo for future fertil-ization before she began chemotherapy treat-ments, Melissa found herself facing decisionsshe had never dreamed of having to make. “Iwas on the phone talking to people all over thecountry about fertility and trying to figure outwhat to do,” she says. After factoring in the ex-pense and steps involved with freezing an em-

bryo, Melissa decided against it.Another key consideration for Melissa was

her two-and-a half-year-long relationshipwithWes, who was sitting with her in the examina-tion room when she was diagnosed with lungcancer. It was there that the pair learned thatthere was no cure for the disease, and that theaverage lifespan ranged from one-and-a-halfto two years. Anticipating the strain that cancercould put on the relationship, Melissa gave herboyfriend the option to move on with his life,and with no hard feelings. “I gave him an ‘out’option right away,”Melissa says. “But he stuckaround.He toldme that his goalwas to helpmeget better, and to always hope for the best.”Melissa’s employer displayed the same ded-

ication, although she grappleswith uncertaintyabout how her work life will ultimately unfold.

Ideally, Melissa says, she’d like to have the op-tion to work either on a part-time basis or toperformsomework fromhome. “At this point intime, they don’t want me doing that,” Melissasays. “I will probably either need to go back towork 100 percent, stay on long-term disability,or find another job.”

Enjoy life and all that you’vebeen given and always maintaina positive attitude.

Unique,but not alone

Advances in psycho-social resourceshelp young adult cancer patientsfind support and excellent care

By Bridget McCrea,Cancer Fighters ThriveTM

38 | November•December 2009 •www.wvmonline.com

www.wvmonline.com • November•December |39

FOR YOUNG ADULTS, POSITIVE CHANGES

According to SteveWhite, Mind-Body Thera-pist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America,the issuesMelissa is coping with as a result ofher diagnosis—including those related to fer-tility, relationships, and career—are commonamong the young adult cancer community.“For some young cancer patients, there is a

sense of isolation after diagnosis. Theymaynotknow many others in their age group dealingwith this disease, since many of the supportgroups are for older adults,” White explains.“Fortunately, we are seeing more resourcesdevelop for this younger generation and atCTCA we offer those resources for all of ourpatients, regardless of their age.”Formany young cancer patients that support

is coming through a resource they are alreadyfamiliar with – social networking websites.For Melissa, her online blog – themelis-sawaller.com-not only serves as a tool to keepher family and friends informed about hertreatment, but also allows her to connect withother young adults who are facing similar is-sues. Many of Melissa’s followers also postpositive comments to her blog to help keep herspirits up.Social networking sites such as Facebook

and Twitter are also helping to bring youngcancer patients together.More cancer-specificsites, such as Imerman Angels and PlanetCancer are emerging as an even more directroute for young adults looking to connect. TheLiveSTRONG Young Adult Alliance and its 100-plus member organizations are a particularlystrong force in helping to create that sense ofplace for young adults. From the organization’sresource page, young adults can access infor-mation about physical, emotional, relationshipand practical issues, and community re-sources.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

With technology continuing to change theway the world communicates and interacts,the Internet will no doubt offer increasinglyvaried andmore specific support resources foryoung adults. This growing body of resources,combined with increasing commitment on thepart of health care providers to acknowledgethe unique issues facing young adult cancerpatients, bodes well for the lives of young pa-tients.For Melissa, maintaining perspective on her

diagnosis and all that lies ahead has been cru-cial. She advises young patients to tackle thedisease day-by-day and piece-by-piece, ratherthan letting the “big picture” become too over-whelming. “Enjoy life and all that you’ve beengiven,” Melissa says, “and always maintain apositive attitude.”

� LIVESTRONG Young Adult AllianceThe LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance

is a coalition of organizations with the goalto improve the survival rates and quality oflife for young adults with cancer.www.livestrong.org

� Imerman AngelsImerman Angels connects a person

fighting cancer today with someone whohas beaten the same type of cancer. Therelationship provides a cancer fighter theopportunity to ask personal questions andreceive encouragement from someonewho is uniquely familiar with the situation.www.imermanangels.org

� Cancer Fighters ThriveCancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly

magazine for cancer patients, survivorsand caregivers.www.cfthrive.com

� Young Survival CoalitionYoung Survival Coalition (YSC) is an in-

ternational organization dedicated to thecritical issues unique to young women andbreast cancer. YSC works with survivors,caregivers and the medical, research, ad-vocacy and legislative communities to in-crease the quality and quantity of life forwomen diagnosed with breast cancer ages40 and under.www.youngsurvival.org

� Planet CancerAn online community comprised of

young adults with cancer. The organizationprovides networking opportunities, hostsretreats, and educates young survivors.www.planetcancer.org

� I’m Too Young for This!Founded by young adult survivors and for

young adult survivors, the I'm Too YoungFor This! Cancer Foundation is a globalleader in the fight against cancer, workingexclusively on behalf of survivors and theircare providers under the age of 40.www.i2y.com

� American Cancer Societywww.cancer.org

RESOURCES FORYOUNGADULTS