Webinar: What’s so different about cancer survivorship when you’re a young adult?
Young adult survivors, (25-40 years), continue to experience complex issues beyond the immediate treatment phase. Workplace conversations, body image issues, gaps in peer support and long term effects from the treatment, can make it difficult to fully articulate how treatment has impacted your life. The developmental milestones that are either delayed, shadowed or challenged by cancer treatment are often not seen or understood by those around the survivor. In this webinar, we will discuss these issues and bring to light resources and strategies that can help young adult survivors to feel less isolated. We hope to normalise the conversation around struggles and successes.
Panellists
Megan is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist currently working within the Work Cover sector, where she helps people recover from workplace injury with exercise and behavioural change.
She was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in July 2019, underwent a seemingly fast paced and intensive treatment protocol and was finished with treatment by October 2019 in full metabolic remission.
Megan enjoys travelling to new places, reading a good book, binge watching TV shows and being social in summer with a glass of Champagne or a Margarita. She is actively involved in team sports including Netball, Soccer, Basketball and Oztag.
Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly
Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Australia. Ursula is also the Clinical Psychologist for Sydney Youth Cancer Service, a leading team in the treatment and clinical care of adolescents and young adults aged 15-25 years with cancer in Sydney. Reflecting her dual clinical-research roles, Ursula focuses on applying evidence-based psychological models and methods to understand, and address, the mental health implications of cancer among adolescents and young adults with cancer. Her research spans the cancer trajectory, from diagnosis through to survivorship and end-of-life.
Gabrielle Asprey
Gabrielle has been at Cancer Council NSW since 2006. Over the years she has worked extensively with cancer survivors, including being part of the development and implementation of the popular ENRICHing Survivorship program. She also recently started delivering a new program developed by the University of New South Wales called Re-claim Life, aimed at the 25-40 age group, which is designed to help participants develop resilience and coping skills to live well after cancer.
As a Cancer Support Consultant and Counsellor, Gabrielle facilitates telephone support groups, provides counselling and reviews some of the cancer information publications. As such, she understands the multitude of issues people face whether it be the point of diagnosis and treatment, during survivorship, living with an advanced diagnosis or facing end of life. She also works with carers and people who are bereaved.
Outside of Cancer Council, Gabrielle runs her own counselling/psychotherapy practice and has a keen interest in bird watching and photography.
For the past 5 years, she has led a large national randomised-controlled trial of an online, group-based videoconferencing intervention to promote the psychological adaptation of adolescents and young adults who have recently finished cancer treatment, to support their adjustment to life after cancer. Ursula is currently partnering with several community-based cancer support organisations including Canteen Australia, Cancer Council New South Wales, and Country Hope, to implement this program for 15-40 year old cancer survivors in the community.
