Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and videos for the
9th Annual National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week®, April 3-9, 2011
Join us in spreading the word and encouraging young adults everywhere to be proactive about their health!
These awareness videos were produced by Vital Options in collaboration with Dr. Leonard Sender and the AYA Program of the NCI-designated UC Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in Southern California, a center committed to ongoing partnerships with young adult patient advocacy groups and participation in related awareness activities like the International Charter of Rights for Young People with Cancer (please add your name in support of the Charter at www.cancercharter.org.) They feature 10 young adult cancer survivors, delivering the message that young adults DO get cancer, and the importance of checking yourself and knowing your own body. They provide up close and personal discussions with young adult cancer survivors, as well as with the leaders of today's young adult cancer survivorship movement.
These videos are a tangible tool that you can take viral, to help spread the message that young adults DO get cancer and the needs of this age group are so different on every level!
We encourage you to use them to help spread the word by distributing them through your own viral campaign, and to send the PSA links to your local media for the week of April 3-9.
Contact us to find out more about young adults with cancer and how you can get involved with awareness efforts, learn more about other programs and initiatives of interest, find links to young adult resources, and view more video.
National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week® (NYACAW) takes place annually the first week of April. NYACAW was launched in 2003 by Vital Options International in recognition of its 20th anniversary and because 20 years later, there was still far too much to be done for this unique age group of cancer patients. Vital Options was originally founded in 1983 as the first organization for young adults with cancer.
Today, there are many young adult focused organizations and it is a mobilized and organized movement. Vital Options is a member of the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance and supports the efforts of its membership on behalf of advances in adolescent and young adult oncology.
What is the LIVESTRONGYoung Adult Alliance?
The LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance is a coalition of organizations with the goal to improve the survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40. The Alliance is committed to promoting research and the investigation of the problem, serving as a voice for the issue and promoting effective solutions. The LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance was formed with the knowledge that unity is strength and by working together awareness can be raised to effect positive change for young adults with cancer.
The BREAK CANCER Campaign challenges people to dream up, set and break world records. The campaign is driven by user generated content that raises awareness of cancer for young adults.
The logo for National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week® is inspired by a Celtic symbol known as the as "The Three Rays" or "The Three Bars", representative oflight, inspiration, and wisdom, and relates to truth, earth, sea and air, body, mind and spirit. The left ray symbolizes female forces, the right ray, male forces, and the center is the balance of nature.
Orange is considered to stimulate physical and mental activity, encouraging socialization and getting people thinking and talking.
Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future, stimulate mental processes, and encourage communication.
Deeper shades of blue symbolize wisdom and is the color of communication with others, increasing personal thought, insights, and understandings, to calm and aid intuition.
The three rays illuminate our message: Power · Strength · Knowledge
Listen to The Group Room® young adult cancer talk radio show archive here. You can also tune into our FREE audio archive of over 700 shows!
Vital Options presents Surviving Idol: Young Adults with Cancer Expressing Themselves, an international talent competition featuring young adult cancer survivors.
www.survivingidol.com
The SAMFund is proud to announce that the 2011 Grants cycle is now OPEN! The SAMFund awards financial assistance annually to young adult survivors who are struggling to get back on their feet after cancer treatment. Our grants and scholarships cover a wide range of needs, including medical expenses, living expenses, insurance premiums, family-building costs and much more. Applicants must be between the ages of 17 and 35, finished with active treatment and residents of the United States. You can access Part I of this year's application by clicking on this link. (http://thesamfund.org/pages/grants.html)
