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May 2013, Volume 40, Number 3
Editorial
Anne Katz,
RN, PhD—Editor
Telling the Tales of Young Adult Survivors
Have you ever noticed how
sometimes things just work out perfectly? I love it when that happens. . . . I
am hard at work on another book for Hygeia Media, the consumer imprint of the
Oncology Nursing Society, and the book focuses on young adults with cancer.
Although many memoirs are available that describe personal experiences with
cancer, few take an evidence-based approach to the advice provided for the
reader.
The idea for the book came to
me last November when I presented the keynote address at the Young Adult Cancer
Canada conference. Standing at the podium, I looked out at an audience of young
people and their partners and, although I have given many presentations to
audiences of survivors, seeing so many young faces was very moving. I also
presented two workshops the next day and heard stories and questions about
their unmet needs and challenges. In addition, I met a young woman survivor who
is an editor, writer, and blogger, and we talked about doing a book as a joint
project. I was so enthused that I worked on an outline of the chapters on the
airplane ride home and started writing in early January.
It has been an interesting journey, to say the
least. Little research exists specifically for this age group (18–39 years);
however, they have some very real challenges that are unique to their stage of
life.
Earlier this year I was
invited to speak at the Living Beyond Breast Cancer
conference for young women with breast cancer. I have presented at the annual
conference previously; they are the parent organization of the Young Survival
Coalition (www.c4yw.org). The conference was attended by more than 650 young
women and, needless to say, a whole lot was going on. All of these women were
in one hotel, and many of them were away from their families for the first time
since their diagnosis and treatment. There was much laughter in the hallways
and more than a few tears. The exhibit hall was filled with vendors selling all
sorts of breast cancer merchandise, from lymphedema sleeves to t-shirts with
funny slogans. My favorite was the one printed with the following message on
the front: “Yes they’re fake. My real boobs tried to
kill me!”
And here is the serendipity
part. When I got back from the conference, I needed to do some interviews with
young adult survivors to highlight the concepts in the book in progress.
Fortunately, I had the contact information for some support groups and, after a
couple of clicks, I had agreement from three
organizations that were prepared to put out a call for volunteers to tell their
stories. What a response!
Soon I was literally swamped
with e-mails from survivors wanting to tell me their stories. And what amazing
stories they are. What was remarkable was the consistency with which these
young people were told that they were too young to have cancer by healthcare
providers who ignored their symptoms and looked for other causes of their
complaints. I know the old saying, “When you hear hoof beats, look for the
horses and not the zebras,” but in retrospect, some of these people would have
been diagnosed much earlier if only cancer had been part of the differential
diagnosis. Young women with breast lumps found while breast feeding were told that they had mastitis; others ignored their
symptoms until they literally fell over at work. Not all the stories have happy
endings. A number of the people I interviewed have metastatic disease and I
wonder if they will be here to read the book when it is published.
I have finished the
interviews and they are now being transcribed. By the time this issue of the
journal reaches your mailbox, I will be putting the finishing touches to the
book and submitting it.
In addition to a number of
life lessons that I have learned from the interviews and the process of writing
a book with a coauthor, I also have recognized that, despite the relative
rarity of cancer in young adults, this is a population that needs research and
interventions that address their needs.
Anne Katz, RN, PhD, is a clinical nurse specialist at the Manitoba Prostate
Centre, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of
Manitoba, and a sexuality counselor for the Department of Psychosocial Oncology
at CancerCare Manitoba, all in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada. Katz can be reached at ONFEditor@ons.org.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1188/13.ONF.203