Episode 056: Young Adults Guide to Dealing with Cancer
Mar 12, 2019•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode description
Hey, this is Joe Bakhmoutski and welcome to Simplify Cancer Podcast! I’ve got a great conversation for you today. I’m talking to my new friends, Gabrielle and Alex. They have a podcast called Soar Above Cancer, which I love and we have a fantastic chat today about what it’s really like to be a young adult who’s dealing with cancer. Here are some things that we cover today:
The shock of being diagnosed with cancer as a young adult
The importance of calling on your support network through treatment
How relationships and friendships can change after cancer
and much, much more!
Links
Soar Above Cancer website
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/soarabovecancer/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/soarabovecancer/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/alexmandarino/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/alex.mandarino.12
Full Transcript
Joe: It’s so fantastic to have you on, guys. Alex, I really want to start with you first, what was life like before cancer?
Alex: Yes, so myself, before the time of diagnosis, right before that, I was about 20 years old, so I was in university, I was studying my Bachelor of Commerce degree. That was interesting. I was very into my academics. I was very interested in school and into the business aspect, working as often as possible and on my studies and things like that. When you’re 20, you have a big social life, so I was trying to hang out with friends as often as possible, go out on Friday/Saturday nights, even physically I was in the gym as often as possible.
I was very active, I was building up muscle. At that time, in your life, you’re figuring out where you are in terms of what you want to do, in terms of the type of person you want to be, you’re meeting new people, you’re meeting new friends. It was a very fast-paced lifestyle in a sense. It was at the time where you feel a little bit carefree and on top of the world.
When you’re 19/20 years old, first of all, you feel like you know everything and you feel like when you plan something out, you feel like that’s what’s going to happen and you’re going to see it through to fruition. Obviously, at the time of diagnosis, it changes your perspective on things, but prior to that, I was a very active human being. It was a big drastic change when that happened.
Joe: Yes, absolutely. What about you, Gabrielle, what was it like for you?
Gabrielle: I was also in university. Actually, similar experience as Alex, I was 19, I had completed my second year of my bachelor’s degree. I was like Alex, very involved with school, with friends, focusing on just getting it done and enjoy that life of a young adult. That, like Alex said, is kind of carefree and really out there. You get to experience a lot of new things and living on my own for the first time, too. Then the diagnosis happens. Then there’s that huge drastic shift that a lot of young adults do live where you might become dependent again and the life just isn’t the same.
Joe: Yes, absolutely. Gabrielle, what was going through your mind when you first found out that you had cancer?
Gabrielle: I tend to like to think that I was really thinking, “I’ve got this.” I think I was to some degree. I think I was in denial, too, at first, about how big this cancer experience would actually become. I like to think that my first initial thought was, “I can do this.” I’ve got this, we can go from there, and whatever happens, I can manage. It won’t be easy, but I can manage it.
Joe: Yes, it’s great that you felt that you could work it out. Alex, did you feel the similar way?
Alex: I would say so, but initially, I would say shocked. I’d say for the first ten seconds or so, I didn’t really know how to react. Obviously, your parents are in the room, so you want to be strong. It’s a new experience.
