Not familiar with the Young Survival Coalition or wondering what a breast cancer conference is like? Today I am sharing all about my trip to the annual YSC Summit and 5 lessons I learned

YSC Summit is an annual 3-day breast cancer conference hosted by Young Survival Coalition. YSC is a nationwide non-profit focused on providing resources, support and community for young women ages 18-40 impacted by breast cancer. The Summit is a powerful weekend filled with wellness activities, social events, educational sessions, vendor connections and community building. The 2016 Summit changed my life forever as I was navigating the transition from active treatment to survivorship and I have been back every year since. Keep reading to learn more about the 2018 YSC Summit experience.

Each year I gain new perspective, information and insight and leave more inspired and empowered to give back to the cancer community. It’s hard to summarize the millions of amazing moments and experience from the trip so I am sharing 5 lessons I learned at the 2018 YSC Summit.

2018 YSC Summit Sessions

The recordings from the 2018 YSC Summit sessions are not yet available. You can see the full schedule here and I have tried to share many screenshots and other resources  for those who want to learn more on the topics.

If have other questions not answered in this post, please feel free to reach out to me by email and I can answer your questions or connect you with other experts who can. As soon as the 2018 sessions are available, I will let you know.

1. Community is Everything

The sisterhood within the breast cancer community provides immense support and empowerment. The experience of facing cancer at any age, especially in your twenties can be extremely isolating. Finding other women who get it and support you can make a world of different. Our shared experience and vulnerability allows us to skip introduction and form deep lasting friendships.

You no longer feel alone in your experience and have a community to support you during your struggles and your successes.

This year I had the opportunity to meet so many young women who I have connected with on social media early on in their cancer experiences. One woman learned of YSC via my Instagram stories, took a chance and decided to attend.  It was amazing to meet her and other young women who I normally only interact with virtually.

I truly feel  been an honor to play a role in the journeys of newly diagnosed women and to provide them with the support and guidance that I wished I had during my diagnosis and treatment. Knowing I can contribute insight, support and empowerment to this community brings me great joy and fulfillment.

More on the power of the sisterhood here.

2. Grief is Not Linear

This past year was a rough one in terms of grief and loss. I lost many friends to metastatic breast cancer including my sweet friends Melissa and Allie. As time goes on, my grief resurfaces at the oddest moments and shocks me with it’s power.  Surrounded by so many other women who knew and lost women as I did, the emotions ran strong.

Dancing during Zumba and rocking out to 90s tunes, we were able to cry and heal together. In their arms I could share my grief and ackowledge the guilt that haunts me everyday as I survive those I have lost.

Many times we are encouraged celebrate life, beating this disease and carrying on, but we don’t aren’t encouraged to recognize and embrace our sadness. One of my absolute favorite speakers Julie Larson reminded me that it is OK to be down and take time for each emotion. Grief and recovery are not linear and require that we welcome our all of our emotions. it is only once we allow them to enter and accept them that we can truly move on and live fully. More on survivors guilt from the amazing Dr. Larson here.

3. Each Story is Unique

When we are initially diagnosed, we think there is one kind of breast cancer, but we quickly learn that is the biggest myth of all. Each case of breast cancer is unique and with that comes side effects, treatment options and experiences. While we are united by our common group, we must remember and find comfort in the fact that we are unique. Comparing our cases to one another can cause stress and anxiety.

What works for one person, may not work for another and that is perfectly OK. We are moving in a direction of more personalized medicine and with that comes more diversification of treatment and approaches. Advocate for yourself, find a doctor that you trust and build a treatment plan that you feel confident with. You can also check out Dr. Larson’s powerful session on fear and anxiety that truly changed my life in 2016.

4. Everything in Moderation

I always enjoy the sessions on nutrition and wellness. It’s empowering for me to learn new research on diet and how it connects to cancer and survivorship. Everyone has an opinion about what you should and shouldn’t be eating and many will speculate that various foods caused your cancer or can cause it to return. This year my beliefs about plant based eating and eating for strength were confirmed. “No single food or nutrient can protect you against cancer”. This really hit home for me. Instead it is a combination of foods (mostly a plant based diet) that play an important role in maintaining a healthy body and healthy cells. This approach in turn can reduce the chance of cancer cells (which live dormant in all bodies) to grow.

I also obtained confirmation that whole soy in moderation is not problematic for hormone receptor positive cancers. This means tofu, tempeh and edamame are fine in moderation, but try to stay away from processed soy like powders, protein bars, or supplements. Link to YSC blog and webinar on the topic.

5. Family After Cancer is Safe

The session on fertility and family after cancer was amazing! Mac & I are in this stage right now, and Dr. Kondapalli presentation really hit home for me. She talked about the science of chemo and fertility, options for pregnancy after cancer and she confirmed that pregnancy after breast cancer is not unsafe (even in estrogen positive cases).  It was particularly interesting to learn more about fertility drugs, and how each chemo cocktail can impact ovarian function. I was live tweeting the entire session and have shared some of the slide shots below for those looking to learn more. Check out Dr. Kondapalli’s 2014 session audio here.

6. Your Story Matters 

Each woman I met and spoke to had a unique voice and a special story to tell. Some were beginning their cancer journeys and others were many years in. The best part is that the YSC Summit has space and support for all of those voices, and unique experiences. We need the newly diagnosed women to remind us to fight for change and we need those further out to bring us hope for our future.

Each woman will walk away inspired by something different, empowered to create change in a different way. Maybe it was the words of a speaker, a private conversation, a new friends or a valuable resource that inspired you.

No matter what you took away from the conference, your life will in some way be changed for the better. I encourage each of you to take what you learned and give back. Share your story, share your insight and find someone else to support. Each year I leave the Summit more inspired to serve and more dedicated than ever to this amazing community of young women impacted by breast cancer.

Didn’t make it to the 2018 YSC Summit, but looking to connect with other survivors in your area right now?! Use this tool to find a YSC F2F Group near you. Can’t find a group near you?! Start one like I did!

Hope you enjoyed my 2018 YSC Summit recap and make sure to mark your calendars/save your spot for the 2019 YSC Summit in Austin Texas. I can’t wait to see you there!

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