Introduction

            The purpose of my project is to create a guide for adolescents and young adults— AYA’s as they are referred to in the medical community— recently diagnosed with cancer. My hope is that it may give peace of mind to a young person recently diagnosed with a cancer or blood disorder. This age group is particularly important to me because I was diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as an AYA in May of 2014. One week before my 18th birthday and 3 weeks before my high school graduation, my life completely changed. At the time, I, like most high school seniors, thought I was invincible and was getting ready to go to Lehigh University where I had signed a letter of intent to play football that January. Instead, I was immediately admitted to the ICU at Newark Beth-Israel hospital in New Jersey and began a 3 ½ year course of treatment the next day. Fortunately, after undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and, ultimately, a bone marrow transplant I am cancer-free and incredibly proud to call myself a survivor! It is still surreal to me to tell my story and I often feel like I am describing somebody else’s life when I do. If you are interested in learning more about my story, I created a visual timeline (linked) as part of my gateway course to the Minor in Writing that includes photos and journal entries from my year of treatment. My gateway project was an amazing opportunity to reflect on a tumultuous period of my life, but for the sake of this project I have decided to focus on answering questions specific to being diagnosed as an AYA that have been either overlooked or misinformed.

              Of course, at the time of my diagnosis my health was the utmost concern of my family and I, and we were grateful to have incredibly intelligent doctors and nurses to lay out a roadmap of what treatment would look like for me. However, so many other things changed in my life for which I couldn’t rely on a medical professional to help me. Friendships, romantic relationships, parties, drinking, going away to college, and everything that is already complicated when you are 18 becomes extremely complicated when you mix in a cancer diagnosis. Things nobody can prepare you for, such as calling someone you love to tell them you have cancer or a doctor asking you whether you would like to know the answer now, at 18, to the question of whether you will be able to have kids one day—I chose blissful ignorance—cause you to grow up very quickly. After researching the materials that are currently available to AYAs to help understand these situations I learned that very little exists, and what does exist isn’t very accurate. Now a senior at the University of Michigan, I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome for myself four years ago and I am grateful for my diagnosis as they have given me a perspective that gives me a special appreciation for everything I have in my life. As I think most people would consider my story a successful one, I thought who better to inform this project than me? Additionally, I am grateful to be a member of a network of survivors through the Valerie Center where I was treated. I interviewed several members of this group in addition to fellow survivors on campus to gain as much insight as possible in answering the difficult questions posed to AYAs. I also included letters-to-self written by myself and one of my female peers to try to illuminate the perspective of both men and women that battle cancer. I hope that my project can help someone faced with a challenging predicament and shed light on subjects that have been long neglected.