Fresh Ink: St. Jude Attitude

We are proud to share the work of our writers here on our blog, including this piece, which is part of a series entitled Fresh Ink. We value the voices of our community members and would love to share your words. If you would like to contribute to our blog here at Cactus Cancer Society, please email christina@cactuscancer.org.

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You’ve got a wishlist?!

Ever find yourself thinking…goodness, what’s an easy way for me to give back? Well, we have an easy answer for you! We have a wishlist where you can buy tangible supplies for upcoming programs!

On the wishlist, you can see supplies that will be used in future programs and how many of each of those supplies we’ll need. Then, you take it from there! Able to buy a single item, awesome, THANK YOU! Able to buy several things, awesome, THANK YOU! Everything purchased from the wishlist will be sent to a young adult facing cancer while they take part in a program. You’ll have supplied everything they need for the craft, art, or activity while they experience a supportive community and learn to thrive through cancer.

We’re Hiring!

It has been my very extreme pleasure to watch this organization grow from the very start of an idea to a full-fledged 501(c)3 with over 20 programs helping reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and loneliness, and serving thousands of young adults facing cancer every year.

Interested in joining our team and positively impacting young adults facing cancer? Have some professional fundraising experience? We’re hiring for a Development Coordinator and we’d love you to apply! We’re looking for someone with a passion for development, interested in working to raise essential funds and build a more supportive and united community for young adults facing cancer. We are a fully remote team and are excited to bring someone new on board!

You can find much more information here along with a full job description and more details on how to get in touch with us.

The Top 5 Favs! Tattoos, Short Hair, Libido, and More!

The blog here has evolved a lot since our launch in April 2015. Sometimes it’s fun to take a look down memory lane and check out our top 5 blog posts of all time!

5. Post-Chemo Hair Growth + Style Tips – real tips from a real survivor about growing out your hair and styling it for every length

4. 5 Pieces of Advice About Sexual Desire from the Awkward Auntie – tips from Dr. Anne Katz, our Awkward Auntie, for those spicy moments

3. Fresh Ink: Cancer Pick Up Lines – a piece of writing from a program here, Unspoken Ink, detailing some wonderful humor while facing cancer

2. Survivorship Tattoos – this isn’t so much a single blog post as it is a tag on our website where you’ll find several great pieces about survivors and their survivorship tattoos

and…drumroll please….

1. Dressing for Short Hair! – for everyone who wants a little tangible help with looking feminine while wearing super short hair

And there you have it! The top 5 blog posts of all time here at Cactus Cancer Society, as they stand today. What other sorts of posts are you looking to see?

Did you miss Unspoken Whispers?

We know that a lot is going on and sometimes you can’t always get to all of the programs here at Cactus Cancer Society that you want to attend. Unspoken Whispers is a drop in, creative writing program that meets for 30 minutes every Thursday. We don’t teach you how to write or critique your writing, but we all spend 7-10 minutes writing to a prompt, then some time listening to writing that people are interested in sharing while thinking through what we liked about the piece, what was strong, and what stayed with each of us. Sharing is optional but seriously the best part of the program.

Below is the prompt we wrote to this morning and let me offer a little structure to your journaling/writing if you haven’t joined us before.

  1. Set a timer! You can write for longer once your timer goes off if you feel inspired but don’t feel pressure to write more than 5-10 minutes!
  2. Your first idea about how you’d like to respond to the prompt is probably your best one. Go with it!
  3. There is no “wrong” way to do this. Write about anything that comes to mind and feel free to throw out the prompt entirely.

And that’s it! How did it go? Let us know in the comments and join us for a live Unspoken Whispers program soon!

Best Of: Caregiving Blog Posts

November is National Family Caregivers Month. In honor of the incredible cancer caregivers in our lives, we are highlighting the importance of their place in the story. Read on to find blog posts from Cactus Cancer Society and The Negative Space, an organization that shines a light on the realities of caregiving, provides direct services to caregivers, and educates and equips those who support them with concrete tools and strategies.

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