Flashback Posts And Summer Break, Oh My!

lacuna loft

We have now officially made our way through the top 31 articles in Lacuna Loft’s Young Adult Voices, archives.  These articles, as chosen by you, are the ones most often read and returned to.  Some of them were written way back in 2014, before Lacuna Loft was even a nonprofit!

I’d like to thank all of the contributors to Lacuna Loft’s Young Adult Voices blog and especially the writers whose work was featured in the top 31 posts.  Over the past month, we’ve re-read articles by Cecilia, Anna, me (Mallory), Karen, Dana, Nikhil, Heather, Michele, Jennifer, Imogen, Christabel, Bekah, Mahalia, and Christina.  Thank you!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…the power that comes with the courage and vulnerability it takes to share these stories is incredible.  Every time you share your story, someone else dealing with cancer as a young adult realizes they are not alone.  They understand that someone else out there has been through what they are going through.

Spring has been busy at Lacuna Loft.  We went to CancerCon in April, the Oncology Nursing Society Congress in May, and we’re headed to the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting this weekend.  As many of you head into the end of the school year and the start of summer, we’re taking a break on the Young Adult Voices blog for the next month.  We’ll be back in July, with more of the great stories and content that you have come to expect from Young Adult Voices.

Our other programs will keep running.  You can still count on attending our Young Adult Cancer Creative Writing Group Open Write Nights (sign up in you’re interested in attending) and we’ll have a few Young Adult Cancer (YAC) Hangouts.  (We’ll keep you updated on those if you’re signed up).

Until we are back, enjoy our other programs (try something new with us!) and sift through our numerous archives for anything you might be interested in.  See you soon!

Flashback #1: 10 Things About Cancer in Your 20s

cancer in your 20s

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with our long awaited, top post, Flashback #1: 10 Things About Cancer in Your 20s, written by Cecilia. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!

….Let me start this off by saying that I read a LOT of Buzzfeed, which means I often think of things in lists. So when brainstorming my next blog post, I figured, I may as well post a list!

There is so much that changes in your life when you get cancer, regardless of age; but when you are diagnosed with cancer in your 20s, there is a whole set of other issues, scenarios, and such that you will encounter. Keep in mind, this list is based solely off of my own experiences & experiences I have heard of from fellow young cancer fighters. Also, I believe laughter is an incredibly healthy release, so while some of these will be serious, many will have a sense of humor behind them. I would LOVE to develop this list as well, so feel free to comment with your own experiences & your own items that you think should be on the list!…..…

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #2: Post-Chemo Hair Growth + Styling Tips

styling hair after cancer

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #2: Post-Chemo Hair Growth + Styling Tips, written by Anna. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues tomorrow!

….The number one thought on most people’s mind post-chemo is how quickly will their hair grow back and what will it look like. Though I became quite fond of my bald head, the day chemo was over, I threw that love to the wind and put all my energy into regrowing my hair. After many nights of research, I settled on Biotin as my first plan of attack. I started taking the Biotin supplement the day my chemo ended (with my doctor’s approval) and I was so amazed by the results. My hair grew like weeds. Though I was thrilled to have hair on my head again, I was not so thrilled about the hair that quickly sprouted EVERYWHERE else. One day, I even found 2 long hairs coming out of my cheeks! It was also around that time that I experienced a horrible bout of cystic acne so I decided to take a break from the Biotin and exercise some patience.  I have since gone back on a lower dose of Biotin and have had no side effects (2,000 mg/day).

Now I am about 13 weeks out from chemo and I am finding creative ways to style this odd little mess of hair on my head. As someone who has always had long hair, this is a new beast for me to tackle. As a beauty addict, I am taking this as just another beauty challenge. It’s a chance for me to try new styles, experiment with new products, and build my confidence along the way…….…

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #3: Motivational Desktops

motivation after young adult cancer

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #3: Motivational Desktops, written by Mallory. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues tomorrow!

….Learning how to be a survivor, or going through that which needed surviving…those are tough times in life.  As I continue living through survivorship, little motivational happy thoughts really help me re-correct my outlook on something if I seem to be straying into negative musings.  I like the continual, gentle reminders that life is tough, but we are here to survive….and that even through the tough times, life can be very beautiful.  What kind of reminders do you like to keep your outlook on life as positive and happy as possible?  I, for one, love a good motivational poster………

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #4: After A Mastectomy You Get New Boobs! Yay! Wait, Not Really

breast reconstruction

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #4: After A Mastectomy You Get New Boobs! Yay! Wait, Not Really, written by Karen. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues next week!

….When I tell people about my mastectomy and breast reconstruction, I receive lots of support, many questions, and even some rude comments. The most frequent thing I hear from both women and men is “at least you will get perky boobs” (insert awkward laugh here)

For those of you who, thankfully, have not had a mastectomy or been close to someone who is going through one, you might think that this is going to make us feel better. It doesn’t! I understand that it is meant to be a supportive comment, but, I promise you, this is not a normal boob job. Yes, I did get implants to replace my real breasts, but that is where the similarities end………

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #5: 5 Steps To Being A Cancer Survivor As A Young Adult

cancer in your 20s

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #5: 5 Steps To Being A Cancer Survivor As A Young Adult, written by Mallory. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues tomorrow!

….Being a cancer survivor is often tricky for young adults….you’ve just finished treatments/surgeries/radiation and now…you’re done!  Your friends and family rejoice and then they all load into the car and go home…metaphorically speaking of course.

WhatNext recently published an article talking about 5 things to know about survivorship but we decided that this needed to be taken to the next level and catered to the young adult audience in particular.  So here goes nothing!

5 Steps to Being A Cancer Survivor As Young Adult…..…

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #6: 10 More Things About Cancer In Your 20s

cancer in your 20s

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #6: 10 More Things About Cancer In Your 20s, written by Mallory. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues tomorrow!

….10 More Things About Cancer In Your 20s (or 30s)

    • 1.  Life will often feel divided between “before Cancer” and “after Cancer.”

I remember exactly the day that I was diagnosed.  I remember my hobbies and habits before cancer and I know how they have changed after cancer.  I sometimes think longingly of my pre-cancer self and sometimes I feel empowered by my post-cancer self, kicking ass and taking names………

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #7: When to Say When

stopping cancer treatments

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #7: When to Say When, written by Dana. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues tomorrow!

….When we went to St. Louis Children’s Hospital in October 2011 and was told, “Your child has cancer”, naturally, the plan was to fight. To do everything in the doctor’s power to get rid of Sebastian’s cancer. So, that’s what we did, and Bastian was led down a path that consisted of chemo, radiation, bone marrow transplants, pain, nausea, more chemo and more pain. He spent countless days in the hospital, missed out on school and friends and birthday parties and swimming. He lost all of his hair, and a quarter of his body weight. The treatments made him so very sick. And all the while the scans continued to show no disease improvement. The treatments were not working…..…

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #8: Letting Go Of Hope

hope and childhood cancer

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #8: Letting Go Of Hope, written by Dana. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues next week!

….From the moment I was told, “Your son has cancer”, I had hope. I was filled with it. It was the feeling I had when looking over treatment plans. It was what I thought I heard in the doctor’s voices when they were telling me what we were going to do next. It was the word I heard the most often from people.

“We are hoping for the best.”

“We hope that the chemo works.”

“We are holding out hope for a miracle.”

“Don’t lose hope!”

It was the name given to the Facebook support page. “Hope for Sebastian”. It was on the t-shirts we had made. Hope was everywhere….…

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Read the rest of the article here!

Flashback #9: Sign Me Up For A Buzz Cut!

buzz cut after cancer

To celebrate our 2-year anniversary of being a nonprofit, Lacuna Loft is bringing back our top 31 articles from our archives!  The countdown to our top post is continuing today with Flashback #9: Sign Me Up For A Buzz Cut!, written by Mallory. These 31 articles are the best of the best and we’re very happy to share them with you again!  The countdown continues tomorrow!

….When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in Feb. 2011, losing my hair was the last worry on my mind.  For a lot of women, I know that this isn’t the case.  Losing your hair can be a very emotional and challenging experience.  When my mother was going through chemo for a brain tumor she refused to let our hair dresser, a woman I have known since childhood, cut my mom’s hair shorter than was possible with a pair of scissors….and my mom wore a wig or a scarf all the time once her hair started falling out.  Even though with the chemo that I received, total hair loss happens in almost all cases, it didn’t happen for me……

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Read the rest of the article here!