Stupid Cancer.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis as a young adult comes with specific challenges. Here at CfR, we have many younger women with breast cancer attend our retreats. Meet Matthew Zachary, the founder of Stupid Cancer. A fantastic resource for those who have received a cancer diagnosis under the age of 40.
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Hello friends reading this Blog.
I am Matthew Zachary. Fortunately or unfortunately I am highly “Google-able” so you may know me as a concert pianist, composer, public speaker, and veteran of the agency world who survived a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer at the age 21 in 1996. Or you may know me as a bald, fedora-wearing healthcare disruptor, Founder/CEO of Stupid Cancer, and Chief Angry Officer of the young adult cancer movement. (Or neither. Or both. And that’s OK.)
When diagnosed, I was six months shy of college graduation with an aspiring career ahead of myself as a Hollywood film composer. Cancer cost me my career and nearly my life. Ten years later, in 2006, I founded Stupid Cancer, which has risen in the ranks to become the leader in young adult cancer advocacy, research, and support. It is the community that I only wished I had back in the dark ages when the Macarena, Friends and NYPD ruled the world.
Through a combination of well planned live events ranging from small (Stupid Cancer community Meetups) to the insane (CancerCon 2018) — to thriving online social and content-driven platforms, (The Stupid Cancer Show,) Stupid Cancer’s goal is to make young adult cancer suck less. This is an entire generation of patients who have been relegated to the curb and largely ignored by the entire oncology healthcare system – until now.
So whether you were diagnosed today, as a kid or 10 years while while pregnant in your 20s – this is your community. The club you never asked to join but we’re glad you’re here where you belong… with your peers.
So, get to know us. Tell your friends. Your nurses. Your co-workers. We hope they never need us.
[man-uh-fes-toh] “Within the young adult cancer community, we hold no one’s disease above anyone else’s. It is not a contest about body parts and the playing field is leveled when stupid cancer comes along. There are no “good” cancers. Benign tumors can be just as devastating as malignant ones. Issues of isolation, fear, relationships, fertility, parenting, caregiving, careers, and insurance are equally shared. We believe that when the doctor says, “You’re cured. Go home.”, that’s not the end of the story. We have the right to survive with dignity and quality and we deserve to be treated age-appropriately. Cancer survivorship is an art, and the art of your survivorship is how you choose to get busy living. This is who we are. We are one community. We are hundreds of thousands strong. We are changing the rules. We are Stupid Cancer!”
Stay amazing.
Matthew
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