Press Release – It may be surprising to learn more than 70,000 young adults – between the ages of 15 and 39 – are diagnosed with cancer every year in the U.S. alone. That’s one every eight minutes.
But it’s probably less surprising that, for young patients, cancer’s first casualties are relationships.
Friends of young adult cancer patients are rarely able to speak the post-surgery language of chemo, radiation, waiting rooms, lethargy, baldness and insurance obsession. On the other end of the spectrum are cancer support groups, filled with grey and wrinkled survivors, who can’t relate to younger patients as peers. The result is social isolation or clinical depression.
Enter The Stupid Cancer App.
Arriving for iPhone September, 28 2017, The Stupid Cancer App is free and will connect Millennial and Gen Z cancer survivors to peers globally for 1:1 support. Users will register as either patient or caregiver, and be matched by diagnosis, stage, age and location. (Users may also chat anonymously.) For broader discussion, the app features moderated group chats.
The mobile solution was created by startup GRYT Health, Inc. to offer young adult cancer patients an opportunity to seek advice from a survivor their age, or someone who was their age when diagnosed, about support services, treatment options and survival guidance.
Initially the app will be populated by an energetic young adult cancer community of three million-plus members – grown over a decade by its grassroots partner organization Stupid Cancer. Founded in 2007 as an online patient and advocacy resource, Stupid Cancer now also stages the foremost young adult cancer summit, CancerCon; produces a podcast with celebrity and other notable guests, The Stupid Cancer Show; hosts local meetups in all major U.S. cities; and moderates robust and frank social media channels that listen rather than speak to its engaged community.
In addition to Stupid Cancer, the app features a network of nearly 50 ancillary cancer groups users will be connected to for a vast range of age-appropriate resources.
