Gather Around the Campfire! It’s Time for a Prickly Rebels Meeting

It’s time for our first-ever quarterly meet-up for the Prickly Rebels Club! What’s the Prickly Rebels Club? It’s like scouting for adults, with a young adult cancer twist. Back in June, we held our first-ever Rebel Badge Book initiation. It’s been a lot of time since then, and we want to know what you have been up to and what badges you’ve been working on since we last met. This is also the perfect time to troubleshoot with other Rebels, shamelessly brag about your accomplishments, and get motivated for fall adventures.

Continue reading

Christina’s Corner: September 1, 2023

Ah, September. Here we are. The August Blue Supermoon this week ushered us out of unofficial summer and into fall. For many of us, it won’t start to feel like fall for another several weeks; for others, it remains permanently kind of balmy. I will personally be clutching onto the summer until my knuckles are white, though perhaps you’re eagerly awaiting hoodies and rewatches of Hocus Pocus. Either way, I wish you an easy and simple transition into a new month, and here are a few suggestions that are just as uncomplicated and straightforward.

Continue reading

Introducing the Cactus Cancer Society Wishlist!

If you’re looking for an easy way to support Cactus Cancer Society programs while you’re shopping for other reasons – we’ve got you covered! Introducing our Amazon Wishlist, where you can see and buy exactly what we need to keep our programs running. In addition, you can contribute the items that are meaningful to you. Love LEGOs and want to jumpstart our Builder’s Workshops? Add one or all of the supplies for an upcoming workshop to your cart.

Continue reading

Christina’s Corner: August 25, 2023

Spoiler alert: I’ve accomplished a feat I didn’t know I wanted to accomplish, which is that I used the word smorgasbord in this blog post. It’s a word I don’t use often enough, honestly – and probably haven’t since I lived in New York for grad school. There was an awesome food truck event called Smorgasburg on the weekend in Williamsburg. It has since grown to an offering in cities around the country, and different locations in the city itself, but when I was there, it was just along the East River and in the footprint of a brick factory. (The park was recently renamed Marsha P. Johnson State Park, which I love.) This reflection is a bit of a smorgasbord itself: a buffet, if you will, with offerings ranging from photos to small business support. I invite you to peruse, pick your fineries, and enjoy.

Continue reading

Let’s Talk Under the Whispering Door!

You’ve read the book. Maybe you’ve laughed, maybe you’ve cried – but either way, you’ve got feelings and thoughts and it’s time to share them!

Join us to discuss our latest Book Club pick, Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune this coming Wednesday, August 30 at 5:00pm PT / 7:00pm CT / 8:00pm ET in Cactus HQ. Completing the book in time for the discussion is not required but strongly encouraged, as we will be discussing the plot in its entirety.

Continue reading

Christina’s Corner: August 18, 2023

This past weekend I went to the beach for the first time this summer. It was an extra-hot day on the sand with a fair number of greenheads, so I wanted to go into the ocean pretty early on. August along Atlantic Ocean shores has the kid of cold that will take your breath away, but I knew I wanted to get full-body relief and do one of my favorite things ever: float staring up at the sky. On the way out I debated every choice I’d ever made in life, and once fully in I wasn’t so much acclimated as much as my body was just totally numb from the water temperature. My friend and I started talking about cold plunging, which people have been hyping as a miracle for all kinds of ailments. I admire those folks, but I will say this: my life is hard in many, many other ways. I don’t want to voluntarily do hard stuff like that. I want to do easy stuff.

Continue reading

Cactus Making Waves: Hill Day in Washington, D.C.

As any cancer community member knows, receiving a diagnosis can change your perspective on nearly everything. If you had lived a previously healthy life, you find out just how much harder life can be, even when treatment is going well. You discover the complicated nature of healthcare, specifically in the United States.

We get to hear today from one of our community members, Bethany, about what it was like to advocate for change at the national level by participating in Hill Day. Read on for more about her adventure!

Continue reading