According to the American Cancer Society, about 80,000 young adults aged 20 to 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. And about 5% of all cancers are diagnosed in people in this age range. At Red Door Community our Young Adult population continues to grow, we currently support over 260 active Young Adult (YA) members.
Our program includes three monthly support groups: Young Adults Living with Cancer, Young Adult Caregivers, and Young Adult Bereavement. Our unique program for young adults focuses on building community, decreasing isolation and meeting the unique needs of this population. Themes and topics covered in these support groups include but are not limited to: impact on fertility, communication with peers and family, balancing cancer with social life and work, role reversal, dating, and parenting.
In the Fall of 2020 we expanded our program and began offering monthly activities for our YA members. Activities have included a mixology class, a Healing Through Writing workshop with Elephants and Tea, guided meditation and reiki, and How to Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Food Over the Holidays. Our first YA Monthly Activity of 2021 will be Stretch It Out, a movement class facilitated by Sara Dimmick, founder of Physical Equilibrium.
Red Door Community is committed to serving this growing population impacted by cancer. We recently issued a survey to gather feedback and hear directly from them about the types of programs they would like to see and what could be most beneficial to them in this time of need. We look forward to developing more program offerings based on the results.
