Young Survivorship: Why We Need Our Cancer Friends

Julia Becker Collins was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2020.

Cancer friends are one of the most important elements of survivorship, we need people who get what we've been through. Who else can you laugh about chemo constipation or the horror of chemical menopause with?

Once we've finished treatment our friends and family often have the expectation that we're better. That we'll slip back into our pre-cancer life and go back to normal. If only it was that easy!

Getting back to normal after cancer

Cancer changes everything, I hardly recognise the person I was before my breast cancer diagnosis. I have been completely and utterly altered by my cancer experience, I spent the first year after chemo and radiation feeling lost.

No one tells you how hard recovery can be when you're signed off by your oncologist. I often recount my oncologist telling me 'now we encourage you to go and live your life'. To this day I have no idea what that means. It can be easy to berate ourselves for not being better quicker. The truth is recovering from cancer treatment is often a long and slow process.

Thyroid cancer during a pandemic

In this week's episode my guest, Julia Becker Collins, and I talk about what young survivorship means. We both dislike the word survivorship! There really isn't a good phrase to describe post-cancer life. The dumpster fire? Cluster fuck?

Julia was in the process of being diagnosed with thyroid cancer when the State of Massachusett, where she lives, completely shut down in 2020. Covid was sweeping through the US and caused a huge strain on the health system.

At the time Julia was a COO of a successful advertising agency, regularly competed in ultra-marathon races, and was generally taking life by the balls.

Life after cancer

After going through intensive treatment Julia was left trying to figure out how to get back to normal. She talked about coming to the realisation the fun-loving person she was before cancer doesn't exist anymore. There was no going back.

Her experience echoes so many younger people I have spoken to since my own cancer diagnosis. Julia's turning point was going to a weekend for younger people impacted by cancer. She found her 'people' and realised she was going to need her cancer friends to help her navigate the maze of young survivorship.

Check out the full episode for our hilarious conversation about dealing with cancer as a younger person.

Episode Transcript