Organization Details:

To empower young adults affected by cancer by, reducing late detection, ending isolation, improving quality of life and providing meaningful survivorship.

Description and/or History:
STUPID CANCER 101

70,000 Americans between 15-40 are diagnosed with cancer each year and 10,000 will not survive, numbers 7x greater than those in pediatrics. Unlike other age groups, these stats have not improved in 30 years. There has been no improvement in the 5-year survival of young adults since 1976.º This is not OK. Young adults also face unique issues that are not currently being met by the current continuum of care including fertility, isolation, insurance, dating/sexuality, financial assistance, education, employment and age-appropriate peer support such as social networking, both off and online. The last 30 years of cancer 'progress' have failed the next generation of survivors so there is no reason to think the next 30 will be any different unless change happens now.

i[2]y like many advocacy organizations, was borne out of an inequity. In 1995, at the age of 21, concert pianist and composer Matthew Zachary was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer in college and told he'd likely never perform again. He and his family were thrust into a cancer landscape much different than today.

The Internet was in its infancy, cancer resources for adolescents and young adults (AYA) were few and far between and 'surviving' meant living beyond five years. Although Matthew and his family were offered comfort through a small, fragmented community, they were not able to benefit from many of today's surviorship resources. Like millions of other families, they had to go it on their own and hope for the best.

Since 1996, there has been an upsurge of AYA advocacy organizations whose programs, tools and services are specifically directed at the unique needs of those aged 15-39. Many of these groups were founded by young survivors like Matthew. Unfortunately, 11 years later, despite living in an age of unbridled interconnectivity and global communications, most AYAs affected by cancer (and their providers) are simply not aware of—and therefore do not even have the option to access—the myriad of resources at their disposal.

This is a shame.

In 2004, Matthew founded Steps For Living (which because i[2]y in 2007), a progressive social enterprise that linked his worlds of music, cancer advocacy, consumer health marketing and technology to ensure that AYAs affected by cancer would have the opportunity to benefit from early detection as well as connect with and benefit from resources that he and his family only wished they had in 1995.

Today, i[2]y is a hip national lifestyle brand that is being recognized as the next big thing in Web2.0 and Health2.0. By converging social media with youth culture, cancer advocacy and music. i[2]y has quickly earned the respect of the oncology community and garnered international accredidation throughout the cancer continuum.

Over the past two years of it's fledgling operations, the foundation has forged alliances with national public health institutions and young adult advocacy organizations, launched the Web's premiere AYA community resource website, organized the first national coalition of young adult musician-survivors, nationalized the young adult cancer conference and socially mobilized thousands of young adults affected by cancer to a progressive new social movement that is demanding change from an establishment that they have been ignored by for too long.

Contact people:

Matthew Zachary, Chief Executive Officer, (877) 735-4673, (email) Jack Bouffard, Program Coordinator, (203) 241-6387, (email) Leonard Sender, Board President, (714) 456-8025, (email)

Address:

40 Worth Street Suite 7F New York, NY 10013 (See a map)

Directions:

We are located at the intersection of Worth and Church Street.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: 4,5,6,A,C,E,   Walk distance (in minutes): 1