Welcome to a new series here on Lacuna Loft! Â Over the next few weeks, we’ll be talking about different ways of connecting with other young adult cancer survivors. Â Today we talk about other sites!
How are you liking this new series? Â To recap, so far we’ve talked about connecting with other young adults using instagram, twitter, and facebook.
Today we look at using other sites around the interwebs for connecting with other young adult cancer survivors. Â A plus to using one of these sites (and not your normal social media) is that the connections you make will be entirely made up of other cancer survivors. Â The added anonymity this creates can be very beneficial when you have questions about some of the more sensitive topics that can arrive in a young adult cancer survivor’s life…topics like sexuality, infertility, and relationships are sometimes better explored in a more private venue filled with only other survivors. Â There are a number of places where you can find others in your young-adult-cancer-having tribe. Â We’ll name a few and then you can tell us which ones we’ve missed and which ones you’ve used!
Reddit…while I am not a lover of forums (I find myself too easily lost and confused), reddit has a sub-reddit that is specifically for young adults dealing with cancer and several others (here and here) that are for cancer survivors in general. Â You create a username and can then post pictures, comments, and/or questions to sub-reddits which others can then respond to. Â It is a great place to realize that you are not alone and that others have been going through many of the things that you have. Â Plus, there are even sub-reddits for anxiety, knitting, puppies, and anything else you could think of.
IHadCancer.com…a great site with a lot of powerful articles written by cancer survivors.  I write there from time to time and have experienced several very positive connections to other survivors on the site.  While their content is not young adult cancer specific, many of the bloggers and users are young adult cancer survivors.  You can add users to your circle of friends, post questions on the discussion board, read blog articles, write a letter to Dear Cancer, and more.
PlanetCancer.org…one of the first (if not, the first) online forums for young adult cancer survivors.  There are online discussion boards, blog articles, member profiles, and more…all to help you in connecting with other young adult cancer survivors.  The founder of planetcancer is now the CEO of Critical Mass, the new manifestation of Livestrong’s young adult cancer alliance.
MyLifeline.org…this is a great resource where you can sign up for a free site to help update your family and friends with info, coordinate help (with meals, chores, or anything else), and collect funds. Â A new acquaintance of mine was introduced to another young widower through the kindness of mylifeline.org’s founder. Â Just goes to show that sharing your story can have powerful consequences.
Imerman Angels…they provide one-on-one mentorship to people who have been affected by cancer. Â Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, or a friend to lean on who has been through what you are going through.
We’ve said it before and we will continue to stress that connecting with other young adult cancer survivors is a very powerful experience. Â Knowing that you aren’t alone is a big deal…being able to share your good times and bad times with those who truly understand adds that extra bit of control to an otherwise frightening and out of control experience. Â Find your tribe!
Have you used any of these sites before? Â Have we missed any great places to help in connecting with other young adult cancer survivors?