First aid for young cancer patients

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Young people can also get cancer. Every year there are around 15,000 in Germany alone. Twelve of them have teamed up to support other young sick people. The project "Young & Cancer - First Aid - Tips from Affected People" gives real-life help in dealing with the cancer diagnosis that has just been made, but also with the employer and the treating doctors. There are also tips for talking to relatives and friends.

Leaflet gives tips

A brightly colored leaflet clarifies key questions that are important in the first phase after diagnosis. For example: "Get help - you are not alone", "Find out more - make your own decisions" or "Organize yourself - sick leave and health insurance". But parenting and the preservation of fertility are also central issues.

Online videos and interviews

The leaflet is available for download or as a paper version on the website www.erstehilfe-krebs.de, which is supported by the German Foundation for Young Adults with Cancer. The website also provides more detailed information on the leaflet in the form of short videos and interviews with those affected.

"Bolster"

“The most important thing is to give courage. More than 80 percent of us can be healed. We have to give strength for the upcoming treatment, ”explains the 26-year-old student Franziska, who survived severe cancer and has now helped to set up the project.

As people affected by it, you and your colleagues can best empathize with the situation of young cancer patients and know what is important after the shock of the diagnosis. In this way, they can support their fellow destinies in a practical and realistic way.

Source: Press release from the German Foundation for Young Adults with Cancer, October 11, 2016

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