Monday, December 6, 2021
12:00pm ET
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9:00am PT
11:00am CT
Scavenger Hunt Begins
No matter where you call home, you can join your fellow Gabsters  in this completely online scavenger hunt. Just download the free Goosechase app, search for our game, and join!  The game name is “Gabfest Scavenger Hunt” and the password is “Gabster”
5:30 - 7:00pm ET
2:30 – 4:00pm PT
4:30 – 6:00pm CT
Pre-Gabfest Workshop: Advocating, Validating, Empowering: Cornerstones of Survivorship
Join the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as they explore various challenges of survivorship – mental health, body image, planning for the future, and more. In this interactive webinar, we will discuss strategies and tools to help you learn how to advocate and empower yourself and validate your cancer experience. Survivors of all cancers at any stage of their journey are welcome.
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 – 5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Opening Keynote: Your Voice, Your Story, Your Way!
Life has a way of knocking you down and making you either face reality or run from it. Join our opening keynote speaker Yolanda Murphy as she opens up about facing cancer head on using her voice to help those of us who feel they have no voice.
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:20pm PT
7:30 – 8:20pm CT
Healing Through Writing: A Virtual Workshop
Writing and journaling can be helpful strategies toward healing and communicating with others about difficult experiences. Join this interactive session to practice some writing of your own and learn about creative writing prompts with Elephants and Tea and Cactus Cancer Society.
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Emerging Voices
Come hear from new speakers in the AYA community as they share stories with their fellow Gabsters.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 – 5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Interactive Panel: Exercise After a Cancer Diagnosis
Exercise can play a vital role in overall health and wellbeing. After a cancer diagnosis, one can find many lifelong benefits of regularly engaging in physical activity. In this panel, we will discuss the benefits of exercise after a cancer diagnosis, and discuss ways to get started.
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:30pm PT
7:30 – 8:20pm CT
Crash Course: Release, Relax, Rewire
Join a crash course designed to help you release, relax, and rewire through young adult cancer. We’ll be joined by experts sharing their knowledge on being ‘unmindful,’ building your own yoga practice, and relaxing through zentangles.
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Cooking Demo
Steven Giallourakis will be cooking up something delicious and you can follow along with him virtually.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 – 5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Health Insurance Doesn't Have to be Confusing
Trying to figure out how to pick a health insurance plan that actually covers your medical expenses? This session will explain your health insurance options, current laws regarding pre-existing conditions and other consumer protections, how to pick a plan that works for you, and how to get financial assistance to help you pay for health insurance.
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:20pm PT
7:30 – 8:20pm CT
Health Insurance Workshop
Now that you have the tools to understand your health insurance options, it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. This workshop will provide hands-on practice for picking the right health insurance policy for you.
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Cancer Cards
Come use these fun conversation starters as a way to hear from other Gabsters and share your own story. The Cancer Cards were developed by Hopelab and Stanford University.
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Thursday’s sessions will be split into three exciting tracks: Sex and Relationships, Healthcare and Nonprofit Professionals, and Caregivers.
Sex & Relationships
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 – 5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Crash Course: My Sexual Self
Join us for a casual and interactive discussion with Dr. Sage Bolte, certified sex therapist, to explore the many ways a cancer diagnosis and treatments can impact the various aspects of our sexual selves. From body image to dating and disclosure, from sex to emotional intimacy. Nothing is off limits as we discover together ways to help improve the ways we feel and think about our sexual bodies and intimate relationships. Come prepared with questions – this discussion promises to be a safe place to explore some of the most challenging issues young adult survivors face.
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:20pm PT
7:30 – 8:20pm CT
Interactive Panel: Relationships and Intimacy in Survivorland: A Fireside Chat
Join Oncology Certified Nurse and AYA cancer survivor Marloe Esch for a lively panel discussion exploring the challenges and triumphs of navigating relationships and intimacy after a cancer diagnosis. Marloe will be joined by Brandie Sellers, an AYA cancer survivor, licensed professional counselor, and found/owner of Mind Your Heart Counseling, and fellow AYA survivors Stephen Heaviside and Mary-Clare Bietila. Panelists will share their experiences and advice on topics such as dating and relationships, body changes, and those pesky sexual side-effects from various cancer treatments. Bring your questions and a cup of cocoa, and get ready to cozy up for an honestly sexy conversation!
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Trivia
Come and join your fellow Gabsters as we enjoy each others’ company with some trivia.
Healthcare & Nonprofit Professionals
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 – 5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Crash Course: Hello? This is Your Life Calling! Targeted Journal Therapy for Inviting Self-Care Back Into That Already Jam-Packed Schedule
Making up stories that you don’t have time to take care of yourself? Choosing email and returning phone calls over a 10-minute walk around the block? Chugging down gallons of caffeine while your water bottle becomes a decoration? Join this session to learn how even one small step can make a big difference in feeling better.
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:20pm PT
7:30 – 8:20pm CT
Interactive Panel: Burnout as a Cancer Professional
Being a healthcare provider or nonprofit professional in the young adult cancer world is challenging. Burnout can show itself in many ways and affects the ways we live and work. This panel, made up of healthcare providers and nonprofit professionals, will tackle burnout, its challenges, and the ways they overcome it in their everyday lives as professionals.
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Trivia
Come and join your fellow healthcare and nonprofit professionals as we enjoy each others’ company with some trivia.
Caregivers
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 -5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Crash Course: Caregiver Self-Preservation
If you are a caregiver, you have undoubtedly heard more than one person remind you to “make sure you take care of yourself, too!” But wait, before you write this off as just another caregiver session, we’d like to invite you to join us for a real conversation about the impact of being a caregiver, what self-preservation might look like at different times and for different people, and how it might just be possible (and maybe even essential) to figure out how to address some of your own needs during this time. Bring your questions, your frustrations, and your BS detector!
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:20pm PT
7:30 – 8:30pm CT
Interactive Panel Discussion: The Caregiver Toolkit
Planning for the “what if” scenarios is extremely difficult. This panel has seen a lot and they will talk about what they have been through to help prepare you as best as possible for different scenarios as a caregiver. Join Amelia Baffa, a pediatric, adolescent, and young adult psychiatric provider, as she leads a discussion with parents of AYA patients on lessons learned, boundaries with your loved one, and other important topics to have ready in your toolkit.
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Trivia
Come and join your fellow caregivers as we enjoy each others’ company with some trivia.
Friday, December 10, 2021
3:00am ET
12:00am PT
2:00am CT
Scavenger Hunt Ends
Join your fellow Gabsters in a scavenger hunt! Just download the free Goosechase app, search for our game, and join! But don’t forget to get all your submissions in by 12:00am PT / 2:00am CT / 3:00am ET! The game name is “Gabfest Scavenger Hunt” and the password is “Gabster”
7:30 - 8:20pm ET
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4:30 – 5:20pm PT
6:30 – 7:20pm CT
Closing Keynote
Join the hosts of The Cancer Patient Podcast as they close out YA Cancer Gabfest with a live support group/life podcast! The audience will help shape this closing session, so be sure to join and bring questions.
8:30 - 9:20pm ET
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5:30 – 6:20pm PT
7:30 – 8:20pm CT
101 Tasks in 1,001 Days: A Goal-Setting Workshop
Do you like making lists? Do you like having goals to reach for? Join the 101 Tasks in 1,001 Days list-making session! This workshop is designed to help you create a list of 101 tasks to complete over a period of 1,001 days. It’ll be a fun session of goal-setting and inspiration. You’ll get examples on how a real list was structured and there will be time for some people to share some of their goals and to help get your creative juices flowing! Enjoy a social setting and a fabulous motivational activity while hanging out with your young adult cancer peers.
9:30 - 10:30pm ET
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6:30 – 7:30 pm PT
8:30 – 9:30pm CT
After Hours: Scavenger Hunt Wrap Up
Join your fellow Gabsters during the last activity of the week. We’ll reveal the very best submissions and announce the scavenger hunt winners!
Looking for more? Â Make sure to check out this year’s official program: The Gabster Magazine! Â It’s filled with articles from this year’s speakers and members of our AYA community, so you definitely don’t want to miss it!
Thank You To Our 2021 Sponsors & Supporters
