Grant helps bring young cancer sufferers together
When Kristin Paterson was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a 26-year-old with two young children, she recalls feeling very isolated.
‘‘I walked into the chemo lounge for my first treatment ... I was the youngest person in that room by 25 years at least.’’
Her experience led Paterson to form the Whole Lotta Life Foundation in 2013, with the aim of breaking down the barriers of isolation and creating ways for young adults living with cancer to connect.
‘‘I started off thinking I was going to provide all these amazing services, the thing that people really want is connection.’’
‘‘They want somebody else to talk to who is their age, that gets it.’’
She said while those diagnosed with cancer experienced universal struggles, some of things they were dealing with were unique to young adults.
Concerns over education, employment, fertility, sexual relationships and raising young children could be particularly difficult to deal with.
‘‘You might be single and you have lost one breast and you have been rendered infertile and you are just not sure how to go on that first date and lay that all out for someone.’’
‘‘What we work to do is create a support network for those people to engage with others who are dealing with the same issues as them.’’
The foundation has recently been named a recipient of a Jetstar Flying Start grant.
The grant is made up of $15,000 cash which will be used to fund two retreats and $15,000 of flights to enable young adult cancer sufferers to attend the retreats in Nelson and then Martinborough later in the year.
‘‘Jetstar instantly saw what we were doing, saw the value in it and said ‘yes, we want to support that’.
‘‘That has given us a massive jump start.’’
Paterson said the first retreat was being held at the Kimi Ora eco resort in Kaiteriteri in April and people from all over the country had already signed up.
The retreats would involve yoga, meditation, and art therapy with lots of healthy, organic food on offer.
‘‘The reason I put an emphasis on yoga and mindfulness is that the anxiety and depression for this age group is higher than the other groups.’’