Welcome Liz! You having had your experience with cancer begin over 20 years ago brings a certain level of understanding and insight that I am sure many of us YACs here need and want. Just to hear of how you have coped and moved forward each time with your many cancer diagnosis over the years is sheer inspiration! Happy connecting and thanks :) Nikki ... View more

Welcome Chelsea! wow gal... you have along way to travel for your treatment and follow up appointments (I lived in WA for 6 years in my 20s). Living in WA must be even more isolating for a YAC than us guys over here on the east coast. so, i am so glad you have found this site and joined this group :) With you being only 1 year post your diagnosis, its no wonder you are finding difficulty in 'getting back to normal stage' flowing. Hey... what is 'normal' anyway?? - especially after being confronted with our own mortality at such a young age through a diagnosis with cancer!! I am sure you will find some great new friends here as this group grows who you can share similarities with and help you move forward. Happy connecting, Nikki ... View more

Welcome Amanda! I am SO GLAD to hear you have come through your cancer experience and can 'see life through new eyes at times...' after having no support from your immediate family. Thank goodness for your hubby and little boy who were there to keep you going. Its not surprising its taken you 3 years to get to the stage were you are 'ready to deal with it and move forward'. it was a similar amount of time for me to feel this shift forwards too. I call those 3 years leading up to being able to move forward my 'transition phase'... and at times it was not pretty! I really like your reasoning behind joining this group.... that is the 'healing' aspect and that it can be a two way process between us YACs. nice quote BTW.... might have to steel that one time to time :) Happy connecting, Nikki ... View more

Welcome Reena! I BIG issue for YACs in Australia is miss diagnosis, or late diagnosis - just as you have outlined in your introduction here. MAKES ME SO ANGRY that this happens!! Your a very wise gal for persisting with the diagnosis and listening to your intuition. mmmm my brain is still affected from the chemo / or cancer experience 7.5 years later, so i am with you there too! i am the master at writing lists and having little note pads everywhere. So true with the family and friends being 'on the outside looking in' comment. there comes a time when you drive them all nuts anyway and you must seek and find that additional connection with like minded folks. and that's what we all are here for :) Happy connecting! ... View more

The things I would like to see on happening for this group include: 'Live Chats' where we can talk to each other in real time a 'YAC Newsletter' you can sign up for and receive all the latest news a 'Lets meet Up' link where YACs can express interest in meeting other YACs in there local area face to face for a cuppa a closed 'Online Support Groups' that you can join and facilitated by CC Support Staff in a fun and safe atmosphere a 'YAC Resources and Info' link with things like statistics, media news, YAC services etc. Nikki ... View more

Hi Steve and welcome! Thanks for answering these questions and introducing yourself. OMG! cancer has been prevalent on your family.... I can see that you are in quite a unique position and your cancer experience with your wife AmandaC also having had cancer very recently. I must say, I have never come across two young adults who are married, have a young family and experienced each others cancer diagnosis's and treatment. I think this very unique situation will enable you both to bring so much valuable advice and input for members of this group and alike. I see that you are looking for things like perspective, friends and ideas from this group. As the group grows, you will not doubt form many new friendships that will possibly lead towards new perspectives on living with cancer as a young adult. Likewise I am sure you will gain heaps of new ideas here... especially if you kick off a conversation topic around this concept of 'Ideas' and what this means for you.... To do this, you use the "Create Group message' link on the right side of the screen in the 'Group content' box 🙂 ... View more

Hey thanks..... a LWAC program for YACs would be fab :D I like the sound of a survey Mags, then maybe it should be posted in its own box on the YACs homepage to attract a better response rate rather than hidden within a conversation topic. would you agree? Nikki ... View more

hey AmandaC and harker, I total agree here.... once your diagnosed with cancer, you begin living the rest of your life with cancer. there is non of this so called 'cured' or 'life after cancer' or 'free from cancer'... Hell no! we live with cancer.... because it remains in our minds, through our ongoing appointments, through our daily conversations, through hearing about the latest news like a new cancer gene discovery, through the high profile celebrities that have cancer, through all those stupid 'how i cured my cancer books' that well meaning people recommend etc etc. ... View more

AmandaC, thanks for sharing your thoughts and I am so glad you have reached a stage where your ready to speak up :) It does take time before you have enough strength within yourself to think about helping others. you can only help others when you have helped yourself first. its not a selfish act, it is a good and smart way to do such things without burning out. I think it took me a good couple of years before i had the straight and confidence to begin to voice my concerns and do something about them. Having said that though.... 7 years down the track, i still get nervous when i talk to groups of people about my story, and i still cry every time. (which makes everyone else cry) These emotions are just ngrained so deep, that i just accept them as a part of me now As far as you being 'unaware until recently that all of these networks existed'... that is probably because these support networks have been very fragment and run through overseas based organisations and this new Australian-based YAC site was only launched 2 months ago. How good is it we have a place of our won we can all head to and chat! i love it 🙂 ... View more

Hi again Amanda, OMG! your story and situation are totally mind blowing. I have not come across 2 YACs who are married and have gone through cancer together. my hat goes off to you both for finding your own ways to move forward. FANTASTIC STUFF!! When you look at your children each day, what feelings do you get? I can only imagine that must think daily that your life, your childrens and your husbands are all part of one BIG miracle! What was going through the IVF experience like for you both? During your treatment, did you both have good doctors to talk to about your fertility options or did you have to push this issue with the health professionals? Do any of your doctors provide you with the opportunity to speak to you about the emotional impact of your cancer and having a young family? Sorry for all the questions, its just that you being only 14 weeks after the birth of your second child, i feel that we might have some similar thoughts to share after my bubba boy is born. Nikki :) ... View more