young adult cancer

In this episode, YACCer Morgan talks about how cancer has impacted their life and how connecting with her peers and volunteering helped return some control.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

We Get It is back for season 2 — a series of presentations and sessions from previous events which have not yet been shared publicly. We hope you enjoy catching up on what you missed (or what you have been hoping to revisit) over the next 12 weeks.

In this episode, Fiona Schulte, Karine Chalifour, and Geoff Eaton deliver the results from the YAC Prime Study. Young adults do get cancer, it’s different when they do, and we’re here to tell you why. 

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

In this episode of We Get It, Karine continues her chat with Jay Abramovitch. They focus on his personal experience with PTSD prior to cancer, and how he is using tools he learned about back then to help in the present.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

On this week's episode of We Get It, Karine talks with Jay Abramovitch. Jay was diagnosed with colon cancer in his mid-30s during the pandemic and is learning to navigate his way through it with the help of his peers.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

On this week's episode of We Get It, Karine talks with Lyne Poirier-Lorusso, Ottawa Program Coordinator of Kids Kicking Cancer Canada (Heroes Circle). Together, they practice some breath work techniques to help you cope with stress and to empower you when facing challenges.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series! 

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine chats with Krista on her experience with cancer, including life before cancer, with cancer, and where she is today. She shares some of what has helped her and continues to help her along the road.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine talks with Katie Sevalrud of Knight's Cabin about its Walk It Out project, and the benefits of nature. Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

Karine talks with long time YACCers Nicole and Chris Dunne about family planning, more specifically, their path towards adoption. They share with us their cancer story and also what led them to want to adopt a child, the steps they took, the ups and downs, the learnings, the discoveries, and the hope.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine talks with Christine Skakum -- nurse, program facilitator, supporter, and longtime friend of YACC. Together they discuss the challenges that healthcare providers, patients, and families are facing during the pandemic. Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine spends some time with Blair and together they discuss quality of life. The YAC Prime Study has found some significant differences in the quality of life (physical and mental) of young adults with cancer compared to their peers without cancer. Blair shares with us what this means to him.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

This week on We Get It, Karine talks with YACCtivist Marley on body image issues. Together they will take a moment to review the findings from the YAC Prime Study on this topic and dig into Marley’s story. A little bit of information, a lot of inspiration!

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine speaks with Shanna about her cancer experience and fear of cancer recurrence.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine chats with YACC community member Amber about becoming an end of life doula, what that role entails, and the impact it had on Amber's life.

Join us as we talk about how to be comfortable in the uncomfortable.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine chats with YACC community member Kai about mental health and distress. Kai identifies as Trans-Masculine and Disabled. "I have been legally blind since birth and also live with mental illness and Fibromyalgia. I'm currently studying social service work part-time and I enjoy volunteering for organizations that have helped me along my journey."

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's episode, Karine talks with nurse practitioner and psychotherapist Bonney Elliott about narrative therapy. Thank you to our partners at CIBC for supporting this series!

In this week's We Get It, Karine chats with Ashley and Shiva about how they navigated ableism, racism, and relationship dynamics throughout Ashley's cancer experience.

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine speaks with Joe Bakhmoutski of Simplify Cancer about hope. Cancer is tough and it is Joe's mission to help more people find hope inside a crisis, have a greater impact on the world when facing uncertainty, and help those around us to carry on when times are tough.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine speaks with Alex and Gabrielle about the ins and outs of their new book as they share the wisdom associated with the close-knit Balls of Shit theory (BST) and how it relates to post-traumatic growth after a cancer diagnosis.   Although the theory name may make you crack a smile, the contents and learnings build a foundation on how to rid yourself of thoughts and feelings that no longer serve you.   Simply put, the BST illustrates the importance of letting go of actions, thoughts, and feelings that no longer serve us. The BST is about introspection. It is about looking inwards to identify, process, and let go of our balls of shit -- that is, the shit that is holding us back from living our best lives.

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine speaks with Tom Masterson (he/him) of Blue, an "assistant that enables community support for the everyday challenges that come with a health problem." "Asking for help is hard. Knowing what to do is hard. From what we can tell, those conversations are HARDER than actually giving and receiving support. We think that's messed up. That's why we let Blue have those conversations for us, and we've seen friends and family -- and even strangers and businesses -- take a more active role in support as a result."

Thank you to our partners at CIBC for making this web series possible!

In this week's episode of We Get It, Karine chats with Marissa Thomas, co-founder of For The Breast of Us, "a breast cancer community for women of color." They discuss the importance of storytelling, Marissa shares some tips on how to navigate the healthcare system, and they also speak of privilege and how becoming conscious of our own can help the greater good!