For More Of My Blogs: Please Check out The Huffington Post

Hi All!
   If you've stumbled upon this blog for the first time, or if you've been reading for awhile,

I wanted to let you know I've begun blogging for the Huffington Post.

You can check out my HuffPo  pieces at the below website:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-havel/ 


Thanks for reading!

Thanksgiving for Non-Profit Groups!

Thanksgiving is this week and I'd like to take a moment to thank all of the advocacy groups out there dedicated to helping those struggling with health care.

Groups like

The Patient Advocate Foundation:  http://www.patientadvocate.org/about.php?p=901 
that has an online web-chat to answer specific questions a patient may have regarding insurance access, job retention, and medical debt.

P.S.I/ Patient Services Incorporated: https://www.patientservicesinc.org/how-we-help/default.aspx
that offers co-pay assistance to some patients on extremely expensive medications.

Sy's Fund: http://sysfund.org/
that encourages young adults battling cancer to also pursue their artistic/ life goals outside of their health  battle.



There are so many wonderful organizations out there that I would be remiss to try and name them all. However, I am happy to update this post with additional references if you simply comment below with the name of the organization and what it focuses on.



Blessings to you and yours during this holiday season!

OMG! 2012 Stupid Cancer Young Adult Cancer Summit

I just returned from the OMG! 2012 Young Adult Cancer Summit put together by a group called Stupid Cancer (http://stupidcancer.com/). What an amazing experience! There were 550 registered young adults in all stages of cancer, as well as their caregivers there to listen to and discuss their daily reality.

Did you know 72,000 young adults are diagnosed with cancer every year? That number is staggering! Especially because it is seven times higher than all pediatric cancer diagnoses combined!

This summit was a way for young adults in all stages of cancer, as well as their care givers, to come together and learn about many topics as well as connect with eachother. Some of the topics discussed were self image, navigating careers, spirituality, self expression in a digital world, and the environment. The main message hit home for me was when the doctor says "you're cured, go home" that's not the end of the story. There are so many issues that don't go away just because someone might be in remission. I think many people forget this. The emotional scars last and so do the issues surrounding health insurance and self image (to name a couple).

One of my favorite connections of the weekend was with Johnny Imerman. Johnny is a young adult cancer survivor who started a group called Imerman Angels that matches people who are going through an illness with someone who has already gone through that very illness. Something they also do (which I found brilliant) is match family members and friends of people who are going through an illness to other family members and friends who have been through the journey. (http://www.imermanangels.org/)

I can't tell you how many people have come to me asking questions about all types of cancer and what they can do to help their family members going through treatment. I can give some basic suggestions, but when someone signs up with Imerman Angels they will be able to talk to a person with more specific suggestions. That's invaluable!

I honestly can not say enough about this conference. It is a fantastic and needed forum for young adults with cancer and their caregivers.

What about other illnesses? Other illnesses need support to.

I whole heartedly agree!

Check out http://www.nextstepnet.org/our-programs

This group works with young people with other life threatening illnesses such as HIV, and sickle cell disease.

Feel free to contact me if you need help researching support networks :)

February 4th is World Cancer Day

So I wrote the following as a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times:

February 4th is World Cancer Day. As a person diagnosed with leukemia, ten days after my 30th birthday, I feel the desire to use this occasion to raise awareness. The young adult cancer population, ages 15-39, is surprisingly large. According to the Abramson Cancer Center, each year approximately 70,000 young adults are diagnosed with cancer. The truly interesting fact about this group though, is that its mortality rates have not improved over the last 30 years. Older cancer patients and childhood cancer patients mortality rates have improved significantly, while young adults mortality rates have remained the same. There are many thoughts on why this disparity exists. Often times young adults believe themselves to be immune to such heavy diagnosis, and therefore don't recognize early warning signs. Some young adults do not have solid job positions that offer health insurance, so they don't go to the doctor. Also, according to the Abramson Cancer Center, young adults dealing with cancer are less likely to join clinical trials. Therefore, information on how best to discover and treat these heavy diagnosis within the young adult population is studied less.

If you know of anyone within the young adult cancer demographic who needs assistance, there are a few groups who work specifically with this population. I would encourage you to refer them to the "I'm Too Young For This Foundation" (http://stupidcancer.com/). Every year they have a weekend summit in different parts of the country where young adults with cancer meet eachother and attend seminars specifically designed towards their specific population. This year the summit will be in Las Vegas, NV from March 30-April 1st. For more information please go to http://omgsummit.org/2012/

The more our community becomes aware of young adults with cancer, the more we can do to help.