Did you know that approximately 70,000 young adults in their teens through their late 30’s are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States? That is why nine years ago Vital Options launched a week dedicated to raising awareness for the hundreds of thousands of young adult cancer survivors.

Cancer and Careers has made it a core part of its mission to reach out to the young adult cancer community—both patients and advocacy groups—to ensure that information on employment is available to everyone who needs it when they need it. Our approach has been to develop new resources, such as our Job Search Tools and our in-person support group for young adults; to update our popular publications, including our Living and Working with Cancer Workbook, so they feel inclusive and modern; to speak at events like the OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults and the CLRC’s Cancer Rights Conferences; and to host the first-ever National Conference on Work and Cancer, which includes a special two-hour session just for young adults with cancer. We also have a dedicated section of our Resource Database to organizations serving young adults and are an active participant in the LivesStrong Young Adult Alliance.

There are so many incredible organizations working hard to make sure this underserved community gets the programs and medical services they need and deserve, and we are proud to be a part of this movement.