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“Spending time alone, with your own thoughts, proved to be a way of personal growth for me and, now, after these years, it became more of a necessity. The whole experience, bad or good, was like having your eyes opened. You start seeing the most important things in your life, you start prioritizing things the right way, you start asking yourself questions and, most importantly, you start Growing. Now, one of my priorities in life is to try to help, and I do that within YCE.”

“I only found out about my diagnosis when I was almost done with my treatment. I haven’t heard anyone pronouncing the word “cancer”… Thus, right from the beginning, everyone around me kept reminding me how much longer I have to be in the hospital and somehow, all of a sudden, my problem had an expiration date before I even have had time to comprehended what is ”it” that I’m facing. Even when I was in my worst times I kept thinking “I only have to face this for a while, just a bit more…” What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? For me “stronger” meant to try to study in a foreign country, start my own projects and companies to hopefully become financially independent. Now, 9 years later, I am a university graduate in Denmark, running 2 businesses and on the way of releasing my first book “The Cancer Paradigm.”

“I spent part of my childhood hanging out with leukemia, but in return I got wonderful friends amongst the survivors that understand me, I learned how to enjoy life, how to change something that needs to be changed, and the most important thing – I got the experience that I can use to help others!”

“Being diagnosed with cancer so young, in the middle of figuring out who you are and where you want to go, is hell. Its the only word I think can describe it. You go through things that some people will never experience in their lifetime. It is during this that you realise how important it is for there to be support for young people, for us to be recognised, to give us a voice. It is because of this that I have volunteered both in Ireland and Europe, to make things better for people who have and will walk in my shoes. Cancer is a disease that turns your world upside down and tries to take so much from you. But here’s a secret, what I have learnt; young people are warriors, we meet cancer with strength and determination, we show it we are not afraid, every time it tries to kick us down, we get right back up and show cancer that young people are stronger than it will ever be.”

“Four years after being diagnosed at the age of 22, I still had not met anyone in my age group who had experienced having cancer and everything that goes with it, and it wasn’t that I didn’t try find someone. There was no supports or considerations for young adults who experience a cancer diagnosis in in Ireland. So when the opportunity came to help set up a young adult support network for people who have or have had cancer, I did not think twice about being involved.”

“I think survivors also should be able to express their voice and be part of the decision making process.”

“During treatment, there were moments when I feared I would lose everything but this helped me want more from life.”

“I’m proud to call myself a cancer survivor, because survivors are people who appreciate life at its fullest!”

“When I had to face cancer, I realised that true strength is not physical and it comes from the desire to overcome.”

“I was shocked to find out I have cancer but after two years spent in the hospital I finally understood that it was not the end of my story.”