Cancer In The Workplace Research: Speaker Series Program Announcement!

cancer in the workplace

A few months ago we launched our newest program here at Lacuna Loft, the Speaker Series!  Our 5th Speaker Series Talk will launch on Wednesday, December 20th!  Starting on that day, you’ll be able to watch Robyn talk about her Cancer in the Workplace Research.  While the talk won’t be live, we’d love for you to submit your questions!  After reading a little abstract on the talk, fill out the short form at the bottom of this post with all of your questions!  Submit as many as you want and Robyn will do her best to answer them at the end of her talk!

After my diagnosis with breast cancer, I was startled to hear that although 90% of working aged cancer survivors return to work, 33% of working aged cancer exit the workforce within 5 years of their diagnosis. I spent time reflecting on my experience and my personal decision to leave my current employer and embark upon a new career and wanted to find out more. I found in my personal experience that there was an expectation that after my last day of radiation I would be back to 100% which was not the case. I also found that, after putting up the biggest fight of my life, the garbage in my workplace was illuminated and I wasn’t willing to be a part of it any longer.

As a part of my transition, I found myself going from HR Professional to HR Instructor and now have the opportunity to research why working aged cancer survivors are leaving the workforce and also capture those who are still in the workforce but in different positions. I am uncovering why people are leaving or changing jobs (often to their detriment) and what employers can do to keep employees impacted by cancer in the workforce. My ultimate goal is to help employers understand the challenges cancer patients face and that recovery is not instantaneous and make the experiences of others who are transitioning back to work a little brighter.

Psst…want to submit a topic for a future Speaker Series?  You can do so here!

Cancer and Careers Resume Review Service

back to work after cancer

Going back to work after young adult cancer brings many challenges.  How to talk about that hole in your resume?  How or if to disclose your cancer diagnosis/treatment?  And so much more.  Cancer and Careers is here to help!

Cancer and Careers offers a free service giving personalized feedback on your resume from one of our professional career coaches. For this service to be of the greatest value to you, they recommend reading through their articles and sample resumes or downloading a free copy of their Job Search Toolkit (all on their website!), then updating your resume based on the best practices suggested, before submitting your resume for review.

The service is completely free of charge to cancer patients and survivors!

Cancer Experience Among Emerging Adults Research Study

cancer in emerging adults

As someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, you are invited to participate in a survey-based research study about the experience of individuals diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 18 and 29. This study is being completed to better understand the experience of young adults diagnosed with cancer in the hopes that one day, there will be improvements in the care provided to individuals in this age range. Your valuable input would greatly help us with this research and potentially help improve the experiences of individuals like you diagnosed with cancer in the future.

You are eligible to participate in this study if you received a cancer diagnosis between the ages of 18 and 29 and have completed some form of treatment (including, but not limited to chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, etc.) in the last 5 years. The survey should take less than 20 minutes to complete.

Should you choose to participate, your answers will be kept confidential and will never be linked directly to you. If you have research-related questions, please contact Mikaila Hudson at hudsonk15@students.ecu.edu or Dr. Natalia Sira, PhD, MD at siran@ecu.edu or 252-328-5544. Please contact the Office for Human Reseach Integrity (OHRI) at 252-744-2914 for questions about your rights as a research participant. Thank you for your valuable input!

 

Sibling Mindfulness Project

sibling mindfulness project

Coping with a brother’s or sister’s cancer treatment can be tough. Researchers from the University of North Texas and CanTeen, an Australian organization for young people living with cancer, are exploring whether using a smartphone-based mindfulness app can help. If you are between 15 and 25 years old and have a sibling who has been diagnosed with cancer in the past five years, you may be eligible to participate in our research study.

Researchers will provide participants with a mindfulness app, ACT companion, which you will use over the 8-week period of the study. Participants will be asked to complete brief questionnaires before, after the intervention, and at 2-month follow-up. With this study, the researchers are hoping to explore whether mindfulness as a therapy (delivered by a smartphone app) can be helpful for you and whether family relationship styles affect how well mindfulness works. The results will be used to better understand how siblings are impacted by their brother’s or sister’s cancer, as well as what works to help.

To learn more and contact us, please visit https://goo.gl/9CxivF

Has Cancer Impacted You In The Workplace?

work after cancer

Have you changed careers or exited the workforce since your diagnosis?  Did you want to but were unable?

A new study is currently seeking participants to help uncover why 33% of working aged cancer survivors exit the workforce within 5 years of diagnosis and why others, who remained in the workforce, have changed careers. Although 89% of working‐aged cancer survivors are back in the workforce 2 years after their diagnosis, at the 5 year mark, only 67% of working‐aged cancer survivors remain in the workforce. This number does not account for those who have changed careers.

Our end goal is to develop best practices for employers so they may better assist their employees impacted by cancer both during and post‐treatment.

To participate in a short online survey, follow this link or call (406.994.6198) or email (Robyn.Chupka@montana.edu) for an electronic link.

Please feel free to contact Robyn with any questions or for more information.

Research Study Recruiting Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

childhood cancer late effects study

Are you a young adult survivor of childhood cancer?  Have you experienced any late effects?  Then this is the research study for you!

Researchers, Kristen Trost, BSW, MSS, Ph.D. candidate (older sibling of a childhood cancer patient and social worker) Dr. Benjamin, Dr. Haney (previous childhood cancer nurse) and Dr. Hoch, of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA are interested in understanding why survivors of childhood cancer chose to (or not to) participate in screening for late effects, either going to a specific late effects clinic or working with a primary care physician. We would like for 250 or more childhood cancer survivors who are between the ages of 18-29, who are at least 5 years post treatment to complete a 10 minute, anonymous, online, survey about what influences their decisions.

Survivors have the option to participate in a phone call to discuss in more detail their thoughts on late effects and screening. Responses from the online survey will not be linked to the responses from the phone interview. Survivors do not have to participate in late effects screening to participate in the survey as we want to hear from everyone. From the results of the study, we hope to get a better understanding of what influences a survivors decision to go or not to go to late effects clinics or screening appointments, and use that information to better serve the survivor.

Please click the link to give them your thoughts.

STARTRK2 Ignyta Clinical Trial!

Ignyta clinical trial

Lacuna Loft believes strongly in helping young adult cancer patients have better access to clinical trials and studies.  Young Adult cancer patients are often underrepresented in clinical trials which is one of the facts researchers point to when citing that adolescent and young adult cancer patients haven’t experienced an increase in survival rates since the 70s, unlike both the younger and older cancer patient populations.  Clinical trials help find cures and we love sharing them with you.

We’ve shared about lots of different studies recently.  Check them out here if you haven’t already!

Today we’re talking about a trial that Igynta is running.  From Ignyta:

We’re writing to share information about the STARTRK-2 clinical trial (sponsored by Ignyta) that is currently recruiting patients across the country who have solid tumors harboring NTRK, ROS1, or ALK fusions.  Fusions are a certain type of DNA defect that have been reported to be oncogenic, meaning they could be a cause of your cancer.  By performing molecular testing on a piece of your tumor tissue, it may determine if your cancer has one of these fusions.

Ignyta can provide no-cost molecular testing to see if you may qualify for the trial.  In most cases, this test can be performed on a tumor sample that was previously obtained via biopsy and stored, avoiding the need for a new biopsy.

Eligible patients enrolled into the trial will receive a new investigational drug called entrectinib.  Entrectinib has shown preliminary antitumor activity in many different types of cancers.  Click here to learn more about a recent update from our Phase 1 study.

Please speak with your doctor to determine if molecular testing is right for you.  You may also contact Ignyta at 1.844.STARTRK or via email at STARTRKtrials@ignyta.com to learn more about the trial and to find a participating study center near you.

Interested in other studies?  Check out more information we’ve shared recently here.

Student Loan Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act

student loan deferment for young adult cancer survivors

Critical Mass, an organization that we here at Lacuna Loft absolutely love, has helped introduce a bill that would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow for the deferment of certain student loans during a period in which a borrower is receiving treatment for cancer.  Critical Mass is The Young Adult Cancer Alliance, the full-time federal advocacy arm of the entire adolescent and young adult cancer community.  Their mission is to advance policies that will transform the United States cancer care and delivery system to better serve adolescent and young adult patients and survivors.

From Kate Houghton, CEO of Critical Mass, “This is the Alliance’s first piece of legislation that specifically addresses a barrier young adult cancer patients are facing as they fight to survive their treatment. We need full engagement from the AYA community if we are going to cut through the noise that is currently surrounding Capitol Hill. This piece of legislation isn’t just a small fix on a big problem, it is the start of substantive change and more importantly recognition that young people can and do get cancer. Let’s show Capitol Hill what a critical mass really looks like!”

Your voice is needed!  Tweet about it, talk about it, facebook post about it, write a letter to Congress about it, use your voice!  Tell your student loan story and help pass this important legislation for future young adult cancer survivors!

You can learn more here.  Click here for a draft email to send to your email list.

Research Study On How People Cope With Cancer

cancer coping study

Interested in helping researchers learn how people cope with cancer?  Researchers out of Adelphi University are interested in hearing the voices of cancer survivors, asking a series of questions regarding your coping strategies and psychological functioning after cancer diagnosis, for a study entitled, “Expectations for Fighting Spirit in Cancer Patients: Analysis of the Relationships between Interpersonal Congruency and Mental Health Functioning.”

More about the study:  You will qualify for the study if you are 18 years old or older and have been diagnosed with any type of cancer – excluding brain cancer – at least one month prior to participation in the study. The entire study will take about 20 minutes to complete. If you are uncomfortable at any time, you are welcome to stop answering the questions.

You can use the following link to access the study.

The research team would like to thank you for considering your participation and to let you know the study is confidential.  Please feel free to send this study to others who may qualify.