Stupid Cancer Pushes Young Adult Cancer Conversation Into the Spotlight
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Young adults, ages 15 to 39, account for 72,000 new cancer diagnoses each year – 7 times more than all pediatric cancers combined. They face a set of unique, unmet issues including isolation, insurance, fertility, dating/sexuality, financial aid, education, employment and age-appropriate peer support. Yet, despite medical advances, the 5-year remission rates for young adults diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 39 have not improved in more than 20 years, and the group goes relatively unnoticed in the context of the larger cancer conversation.
Over the past 5 years, Stupid Cancer has escalated the conversation around teen and young adult cancer to a critical level, representing the voice of young adults affected by cancer. Through their initiatives – The Stupid Cancer Show, Stupidcancer.org, The OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults, and various Stupid Cancer Boot Camps and social events – the organization has provided an unparalled resource for the largely unknown group in the war on cancer.
This past year, Stupid Cancer made an enormous impact on the level of attention and awareness surrounding the young adult cancer movement. In September 2011, they aired the 200th episode of The Stupid Cancer Show, a radio show that has reached over 1.5 million listeners globally since it’s launch in 2007. They were also featured in a Wall Street Journal exposé on the young adult cancer phenomenon.
In February 2012, Stupid Cancer was featured on the CBS Evening News. The segment addressed the unique challenges that teens and young adults face, and that they are one of the few groups in which little progress has been made.
Additionally, on March 20, 2012, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released new guidelines and standards that included, for the first time, young adults as a separate group. The adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology guidelines call for referral of these patients to cancer centers specializing in their age group as well as the individual’s specific type of cancer. The guidelines advocate a host of supportive services, including psychosocial assessment and fertility preservation counseling.
“I think [Stupid Cancer] may have single handedly created a new NCCN guidelines schema,” said Dr. Raphael Yechieli, Department of Radiation Oncology at the Henry Ford Cancer Center. “That is nothing to sneeze at! It is beyond amazing to see how they took an incredible life challenge and created a movement.”
More About This Charity
Region
Northeast
Category
Health and Well Being
Name
Stupid Cancer
Mission
Our mission is to empower young adults affected by cancer by building community, improving quality of life, and providing meaningful survivorship. Our charter is to ensure that no young adult goes unaware of the support resources they are entitled to so they can get busy living.
Impact
- Held 110 community social events
- Hosted 50 stupid cancer shows
- Hosted 6 stupid cancer boot camps
- 400 people from 40 states and 7 countries attended the 4th Annual OMG! Cancer Summit
Works In
New York, NY
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