Monday, April 03, 2006

National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week, April 2 - 8

When Laurianne was diagnosed with cancer, I heard that her age group was the least focused on. Why? Because when you are in your 20's and 30's, you are in the prime of your life. You don't get cancer. At least, that is what people want to believe.

My husband, Dan, is a young adult cancer survivior. He had testicular cancer at 25 years old. I would have to check with my dad, but I think even my dad's sister, Marina, fell into this category. She had breast cancer. She is now deceased, from a cause unrelated to the cancer. In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to young adults with cancer, that was started by young adults with cancer. It is called Planet Cancer. And it doesn't matter what type of cancer you have. It was a favorite website of Laurianne's. It let her know she wasn't alone.

Here is a little blurb from the Planet Cancer newsletter, with some statistics about young adults with cancer.

The week of April 2-8 brings to light the other gaps in the plight of young adults with cancer:

• Cancer is the leading disease killer of 20 to 39 year olds.
• Nearly 65,000 young adults in their 20s and 30s are diagnosed with cancer every year.
• Young adults are the demographic group most likely to be under- or uninsured.
• Only 2% of patients between 20 and 30 years old are in clinical trials, compared to 60% of patients under 15.
• In contrast to younger and older patients, survival rates for young adults have not increased at all since 1975.

Also, right now, if you order tea from Portsmouth Tea they are donating a percentage of all sales to Planet Cancer through the month of April. Teas is starting to get very well-known for cancer fighting properties, and if you explore the Portsmouth Tea site, you can find information on these studies. Sounds like a good reason to enjoy a cup of tea to me!

Posted by Lynda (Laurianne's Sister) :: 8:13 AM :: 1 people are more aware ---------------------------------------