A Gabfest? Join Us For A Gabfest!

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Elephants and Tea and Lacuna Loft are partnering together on a week-long, online conference…

YA Cancer Gabfest: A Week of Interactive Survivorship Crash Courses for Facing Cancer.  Come spill tea with us no matter where you are!

Throughout the week of December 7th, we’ll offer opportunities to connect with other young adults facing cancer in webinars, hangouts, interactive sessions, chances for movement, and more. We are busy behind the scenes getting everything squared away but in the meantime, we want to hear from you!

Please fill out this quick survey and let us know what sorts of courses, discussions, topics, you name it, you want to have!

Young Adults Cancer Care Interview Study

kaiser and dana farber poster

Lacuna Loft loves sharing research opportunities with you so today we’re passing along a fabulous study being done between Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center and Kaiser Permanente to learn from patients and family members about the care that young adults (ages 18-39) with cancer receive.

Learn.  Their goal is to evaluate and improve cancer care for future young cancer patients. They especially want to understand what is most important to patients when cancer treatment has not been effective. Research shows that many young adults think about this situation, even when their treatment is going well.

Improve care. Research involving this phase of a patient’s journey with cancer is currently lacking, so they believe that together, we have an opportunity to explore and improve the care that patients receive.

If you would like more information about the study and to find out if you’re eligible to participate, please contact the study project manager, Lauren Fisher at 617-632-6201 or Lauren_Fisher@dfci.harvard.edu.

1. Study participation includes a one-time telephone interview that lasts between 30-60 minutes.

2. The interviewer will ask you open-ended questions about:
– Plans for care
– Important qualities of care
– Priorities for care

3. You’ll receive a $25.00 Amazon.com gift card as a token of their immense appreciation for your participation.

Your information will remain confidential and no one will be aware of your participation except Dana Farber study staff.

You Can Write Write Write With Us!

writing in notebook

I am so excited to announce that we have not one, but two versions of the Unspoken Ink: Young Adult Cancer Online Creative Writing Workshop you can now sign up for!

The Spring Session of Unspoken Ink is starting on Tuesday, April 7th and going for 8 weeks via video chat!  It will meet every Tuesday from 5-7 pm PT / 7-9 pm CT / 8-10 pm ET and overlaps a little with the current session of the program.  On top of that, next Thursday, specifically for AYA Awareness Week, Lacuna Loft is hosting an online Open Write Night, aka Unorthodox Ink, which is a one night version of our Unspoken Ink workshop!

Learn more and sign up for both programs here!

AYA Cancer Awareness Week Is Next Week!

aya week logo

Next week, April 6-10, is Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week!  Along with a coalition of nonprofit organizations focused on AYA cancer, Lacuna Loft is excited to help bring attention to AYA Cancer, share common misconceptions about AYA’s experiences, and present opportunities for young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers to engage in online programming specifically for you!

All week long there will be graphics and social posts for you to share and a variety of online meet-ups, hangouts, opportunities for movement, writing workshops, and more to join.  (Lacuna Loft is offering an Open Write Night which you can already sign up for here!)

Coalition members include the Ulman Foundation, Cook Children’s, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Dear Jack Foundation, Elephants and Tea, Epic Experience, the Expect Miracles Foundation, First Descents, the Fort Worth AYA Oncology Coalition, Lacuna Loft, Oregon Health & Science University, the Send It Foundation, the Steven G. AYA Cancer Research Fund, Stupid Cancer, Teen Cancer America, True North Treks, and the Young Survival Coalition.

Share the love and get involved next week!

Today We Are Taking Over Elephants And Tea Instagram

elephants and tea

Lacuna Loft has been working with Elephants and Tea for a while now, first on some of their awesome content and then on a fabulous event we’ll be announcing in the next few months (eek! so excited about this!), and today we are taking over their Instagram!

We’ll be talking everything Lacuna Loft, what programs are happening this month, and what you can expect in the coming months from our online programs!  Check out Elephants and Tea’s Instagram!

How We’re Managing COVID-19

cdc virus graphic

Seriously, how many blogs and emails have you received so far with this same subject line about how so-and-so is dealing with COVID-19 and how it will affect you?  Well, we thought we’d join the bandwagon because COVID-19 is such a hot topic right now.

First and foremost, Lacuna Loft’s online programming is the perfect escape to the stress induced by COVID-19!  You can still take part in 99.9% of our programs from the comfort of your own home with your hand sanitizer close by.  Second of all, over a month ago, we packed and sealed the creative workshop packages that will be used in the next few months (before most of the spread of the virus in the US).  They are ready to be mailed when sign-ups are finalized.  All of that is great news for our community as we all seek to stay as safe and as healthy as possible in the coming months.

Lacuna Loft’s outreach remains the single program directly affected by the virus at this time.  Young Survival Coalition recently postponed their Summit in Los Angeles, CA so we are anxiously awaiting their new dates and will do our very best to be at the conference at its rescheduled time.  The American Psychosocial Oncology Society canceled their annual conference that was to be in Portland, OR this week.  We are waiting to see if the other events we are due to attend this year will happen as scheduled and will update you all as we receive more information.

In the meantime, stay updated with what the CDC has to say about COVID-19 and check out their handwashing recommendationsDr. Anne Katz, our resident Awkward Auntie, recently posted on twitter about how relaxing and indulgent handwashing can be with the right mindset and we are taking that to heart!

A Day In The Life With AMA

Mallory

We always get asked for behind the scenes, insider info so I’m really excited about what we have in store later this week!

For the first time ever, we’re hosting an “Ask Me Anything” in combination with a Day In The Life takeover of our Instagram stories by our CEO (Mallory) this Friday, Feb. 21st!  If you follow us on Instagram, ask a question about anything you’d like and we’ll do our best to answer and stay tuned on Friday for the behind the scenes take over!

Travel Scholarships To Cancer And Careers In NYC

people sitting at event

Cancer and Careers has travel scholarships available for patients, survivors and healthcare professionals to attend their 10th annual National Conference on Work & Cancer in NYC on June 19, 2020.

This free, daylong event explores the complexities of balancing treatment and recovery with employment and is open to patients, survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, employers/HR professionals, and anyone else touched by cancer.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with hundreds of other attendees while learning about balancing cancer and employment!

Session topics include:
Disclosure & privacy
Working through treatment
Legal issues
Career change
Managing stress
…and more!

Applications are accepted and scholarships awarded on a rolling basis.

To learn more go here.

Help End Surprise Billing

old fashioned telephone

Here at Lacuna Loft, we find it extremely important to let you know when something comes across our radar which impacts you and other young adult cancer survivors like you.  Today is one of those days!  We just learned of this advocacy opportunity from LLS and needed to share!  Take action TODAY!

If you’ve ever received a medical bill that you weren’t expecting, you probably felt confused, worried – maybe even angry. And you’re not alone.

Surprise billing has become widespread and can have a huge impact on cancer patients and their families. It’s what happens when a patient who has insurance visits an in-network provider or facility, thinking they’re covered. But at some point during the visit, they see a doctor or get a lab test that is out-of-network – without even knowing it.

Then, weeks later, they get the bill – and it can total thousands of dollars that they weren’t expecting to pay for the care they received.

Surprise billing can be financially devastating. It is absolutely crucial that lawmakers take action to protect patients.

Right now, Congress is considering legislation that would protect patients from surprise medical bills without increasing their costs. Call your representative right now and tell them to stand with cancer patients and put an end to surprise billing: Dial 1-844-906-0789 for more information and to be connected to your representative’s office.

Cancer patients have enough on their plate without having to worry about unexpected medical bills. Congress needs to end surprise billing to protect patients, no matter where they live or what plan they have.

There is strong bipartisan support for a solution to surprise billing – and this is a key moment. As congressional committees are debating legislation next week, we need them to hear from you that you expect them to get this done.

Your member of Congress needs to hear from you: It’s time to put an end to surprise medical billing that can financially devastate cancer patients.
Call 1-844-906-0789 now.

So, What Exactly Is An AYA?

Now that you’ve joined the Young Adult Cancer Club…pretty cool club, right? (yuck!)…you know, better than anyone around you probably, what AYA means.  AYA, or Adolescent and Young Adult, has been taken by the oncology community to denote those survivors diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15-39.

Looking for a little bit more than that though?  Want to know where these ages come from in the research?  Look no further than this article written by a young adult cancer survivor and researcher, Ximena.

“[Researchers] argue that creating research protocols and programs for those with cancer ages 15-39 is a far too generalized approach in that it does not take into account the person’s developmental stage. A 15-year-old who is starting to explore their identity and separate from their parents, for example, will have far different needs than a 35-year-old who is caring for their young children.”

Read the entire article here.