Years after diagnosis, many young cancer survivors continue to struggle socially

I came across this interesting article published in CANCER via sciencenewsroom@wiley.com

"A new study indicates that the social difficulties faced by many adolescent and young adult cancer survivors often persist for years after their diagnosis. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that though these patients may see some improvement in their social lives during the first year following diagnosis, their social functioning tends to remain constant after that, leaving them socially impaired relative to their cancer-free peers.

Adolescence and young adulthood is a challenging period of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development, and a cancer diagnosis and its treatment can compound these challenges for young patients. Many studies have found that adolescents and young adults with cancer experience greater challenges in social functioning compared with cancer-free peers or older cancer patients, but few studies have examined this phenomenon by following the same patients over time."

Although I wasn't an adolescent I was quite young when I was diagnosed with garde 3 advanced breast cancer and with no family history it was a total shock. Learning to live without the constant mediacl support around me has been hard. With every ache and pain it doesn't matter how rational you are, its always that 5% of doubt that creeps in... well it happened before hasn't it!? You do have a different outlook on life and it must be really hard to go through a cancer diagnosis and treatment, hair loss etc when young as you will undoubtedly miss out on much part of growing up and experience those things you only do when you are young... and supposedly care-free. 

Read more here: 

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/w-yad031517.php

About the journal: 

CANCER is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society integrating scientific information from worldwide sources for all oncologic specialties. The objective of CANCER is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information among oncologic disciplines concerned with the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer. CANCER is published on behalf of the American Cancer Society by Wiley and can be accessed online at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cancer.