Cactus Cancer Society (formerly Lacuna Loft) programs are the fastest and easiest way to connect with other young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers.
Cactus Cancer Society is a 501(c)3 registered, nonprofit organization providing online support programs to young adults facing cancer. The only organization offering diverse online programs regardless of diagnosis and regardless of where they live, Cactus Cancer Society is changing the way that age-appropriate support is provided to young adults facing cancer. Survival is insufficient and we are here to make sure that survivorship support is available, accessible, and specifically designed for young adults facing cancer.
Psst….are you a healthcare provider?
Â
How does it work?
All of Cactus Cancer Society’s programs are online, either delivered directly through our website or through a video chat platform. If the program is through our website, it’s available 24/7. When you attend a program via the online video chat platform, you get face-to-face connection with other survivors who totally get it, without needing to leave your home! In either case, you can live absolutely anywhere and still have access to Lacuna Loft’s programs, and the community of young adult cancer survivors and caregivers who attend.
Here at Cactus Cancer Society, we don’t run formal support groups. Instead, we facilitate creative activities with intimate groups of young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. We’ve learned, through our thousands of conversations with young adults facing cancer, that you all want connection to one another, your concerns to be validated, and a safe place. Cactus Cancer Society accomplishes those three goals through Creative Art Workshops, Creative Writing Workshops, a Journaling Program, Young Adult Cancer Hangouts, a Young Adult Cancer Book Club, an Awkward Auntie program, and more. We facilitate survivorship care and support by bringing together those who totally understand around activities that are fun and engaging.
Â
Get weekly blog articles directly in your inbox every week. You’ll hear about program announcements along with weekly articles on survivorship, caregiving, DIY, cooking, and more!
Want to meet other young adults facing cancer in an online program? With over 15 programs available, there’s a little something for everyone!
Did you used to be Lacuna Loft?
Yes!
Founder, Mallory, wanted Lacuna Loft to represent a safe place where members of the adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer community could come and recover while learning to thrive; a virtual space where someone would want to hang out and learn to live vibrantly.
While we love what the name stands for, there have been challenges with the name including confusion about what it means, how to spell it, and the impression that it is a physical place.
Last year, around our 5-year anniversary, we saw an opportunity to take a step back and recognize the incredible work we’ve done and the growth we had achieved. We also saw it as an opportunity to take an honest look at what more could be done to reach more people and build an even stronger brand. That’s when we recognized some of the limitations of the Lacuna Loft brand that were running the risk of stagnating our growth, so we sought to correct it and here we are today.
Where does Cactus Cancer Society come from?
Our new logo includes the imagery of the terrarium, which provides its own ecosystem that the organisms inside can rely upon. It shows the imagery of the cactus, one of resilience and fortitude. They thrive in the desert, the most unlikely of places, and the harshest of environments. The word, ‘society,’ demonstrates an established space.
At the Cactus Cancer Society, young adults facing cancer can breathe easier within our virtual walls knowing that there are others here who understand what they are facing. These young adults are tough, they are strong, adaptive, and resilient. They thrive in unlikely conditions. And we are a society, a community that comes together to provide support for those facing cancer.