by Laura Weisskopf Bleill
When Jennifer Smith found out she had breast cancer at age 30, she found help from an unlikely source: her infant son’s pediatrician. The doctor knew of another young mother in town who was being treated for breast cancer, and put the two in contact.
From that point on, Smith made it her mission to find other young women in the same position that she was. She found young women battling breast cancer in her workplace, at her church, and through other connections.
She also discovered an organization called Young Survival Coalition, a national group dedicated to helping young women with breast cancer. Smith and several other local young survivors formed YSC-Champaign, an affiliate of the national organization, to make sure that young women fighting breast cancer aren’t alone in Champaign County and beyond.
“On a national level YSC was started because women who are dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis at a young age are dealing with a completely different set of circumstances than an older woman,” said Smith, a member of the YSC-Champaign leadership council.
YSC-Champaign is presenting its first major event, the “You Are Not Alone – Young Woman’s Breast Cancer Symposium” on Nov. 6 at Parkland College in Champaign. The daylong conference is geared towards young women with breast cancer; their supporters and caregivers; and people in the medical community. Illinois men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber will the opening keynote speaker. There will be a small expo area with local vendors. Tickets are $10, which includes food for the day.
The objective of the symposium — which will cover many topics including everything from reconstruction options to writing therapy — is to show women that they’re “not alone,” Smith said. “That’s the whole goal of YSC. You’re empowered, you’re supported, you’re encouraged.”
All women are at risk of getting breast cancer, but the likelihood of diagnois increases by age; women 60 and over have the highest rate of diagnosis (from 2003-2007, the median age at diagnosis for cancer of the breast was 61 years of age). Younger women have a lower diagnosis rate, but face a different set of challenges, including:
- Younger women may be caring for children and/or helping to care for their own older parents.
- Younger women may be balancing their work schedules with treatments. “I’m trying to balance chemo around when I have staff meetings and student appointments,” Smith said.
- Younger women face issues regarding future family planning choices, as treatments may impact fertility. Chemotherapy can damage ovaries.
- Younger women are underrepresented in most breast cancer research trials, meaning there is less data available.
- Younger women’s cancers are generally more aggressive and result in lower survival rates.
To that end, YSC-Champaign raises money to fund resource kits that local hospitals and medical professionals can give out at no charge to newly diagnosed patients; all of the money collected stays in the community.
YSC-Champaign meets the last Tuesday of every month in the lower level of Jupiter’s in southwest Champaign. It is an opportunity for women with breast cancer, as well as their families, to get together with others going through the same thing.
“The kids see that other people’s mommies have lost their hair and wear a wig or a scarf,” Smith said. And, she said, the spouses and partners of women with breast cancer “get to meet other young supporters who are going through it, too.”
For more information on YSC-Champaign, email yscchampaignurbana@youngsurvival.org or visit youngsurvival.org/champaignurbana