The Cause

Cancer is different when you’re a young adult. The first stage of adult life is usually filled with university, starting a career, buying a house, getting married, starting a family, and celebrating your independence with your peers. Suddenly, you have cancer and issues like fertility, friends, and finances take on a whole new meaning.

You have to give up your independence for a while and put that new career on hold. You find out who your true friends are because not everyone has enough wiggle room in that ordinary path to visit you or they think addressing your cancer will make you uncomfortable so they don’t know what to say.

Support groups are occupied by older people who have grown children and grandchildren, and retirement plans. They’re probably not interested in discussing your stress over paying your bills, what you should do about your education, or the possibility of not having children.

Young adults need to connect with other young adults. We do it every day; why should we stop just because we’re going through something our friends aren’t?

Young Adult Cancer Canada's mission is to help every young adult dealing with cancer in Canada by providing information, support, skills, and opportunity. Retreat Yourself, and the annual Survivor Conference give young adult cancer survivors a safe place to go and talk to other young cancer survivors and supporters about the things they bottle up. Programs like We Get It; and Goaltender provide information, guidance, and support so a young adult’s cancer journey can be a little less difficult.

 

All funds raised during the Shave for the Brave go directly toward supporting our programs for young adult cancer survivors. Donations allow us to offer these programs at no cost to the young adults that truly need them.

For more information on Young Adult Cancer Canada's finances, check out our Annual Report.