…to the online home of Chasing Rainbows Young Adult Cancer Advocacy, an initiative developed by Pat Taylor with the mission of discovering and distributing multi-media support resources for young adults living with cancer, as well as for their caregivers, family, friends, and medical professionals.
“I became an advocate for young adults living with cancer in 1997, when my own daughter Sara was diagnosed at age 23. She dreamed of doing something about the lack of resources targeted at her age group…something to let others like her know that they weren’t alone. She agreed to have her 2.5-year struggle with cancer documented on film in Sara’s Story (Infinity Films, 2000) and also began work on a second documentary entitled Chasing Rainbows: Young Adults Living With Cancer (link goes to archive site for the film).
Six years after Sara’s death in 2000, I completed Chasing Rainbows on her behalf, and spent the next several years working to distribute it across Canada and throughout the world. On this journey, I encountered many young adult cancer patients and survivors who were telling their own stories. They were making films, writing books, hosting radio shows, creating retreats and adventure programs designed specifically for their age group. I was – and continue to be – impressed by their strength, passion and creativity, and it seemed clear that the next step in fulfilling Sara’s dream would be for me to support and raise awareness not only of her projects but also of a wide range of other resources in a variety of media. Thus a new platform was born: Chasing Rainbows Young Adult Cancer Advocacy.
In recent years, while continuing to advocate for young adults, I have expanded my focus to include their caregivers. As a Section Editor at Cancer Knowledge Network and a blogger at The Huffington Post, I am proud to highlight resources and personal stories that provide insight and support into the challenges faced by the parents, friends, partners and others who are on the cancer journey with their young adult loved ones.”
Hello Pat,
I am John Barba, the somewhat distinguished, older gentleman with a beard that you met at the Critical Mass conference in Atlanta a couple of weekends ago. I am the one promoting the respite program for young adults with cancer, “Give Me A Break!”
I wanted to send you a couple of things that I’ve written, but don’t know how to do an attachment through this site. Could you e-mail me directly with an address that I can use to write directly back to you? (I’m a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to technology!)
Thanks,
John
703-400-5758
Hi John,
Great to hear from you! Sorry for the delay in responding. I will send you an e-mail ASAP.
Thanks for getting in touch,
Pat
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Dear Pat,
Thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of young adults with cancer, and their family, friends, and caregivers. My 26-year-old daughter was diagnosed last summer with HER2 Positive Breast Cancer. As you can imagine, we have been on quite a journey since that day. I am contacting you as a mother in her early 50’s with a daughter in her mid-20’s with breast cancer. I live in New York State and we really struggled to find people in a similar situation. The local and regional breast cancer support groups were mostly women in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. As you know, someone in their 20’s often has different issues. I also found that the caregiver support groups were primarily for people my age caring for elderly parents. I am embracing the notion that life is not about avoiding suffering but about finding meaning. I welcome your suggestions about how I might begin to either support an existing network of mom’s of young adult daughters with breast cancer or begin one. Best, Liz
HI Pat,
Orla Barry, producer with the BBC World Service here.
We are dedicating part of our World Have Your Say programme today to talking about losing an adult child and how to come to terms with it. The conversation is sparked by the death of Carrie Fisher and subsequent death of her mother who said she just wanted to be with her.
I wondered if you had any thoughts you would like to share with the programme, given your own experience and work over the years.
You can contact me here and on + 44 203 614 1087.
Thankyou,
Kind Regards,
Orla Barry
BBC World Service Producer -Orla Barry
BBC World Service- 126 Million Listeners Globally