Young Cancer Patient Reflects on Survivorship

Phuong Gallagher, a colorectal cancer patient, offers tips to others faced with a cancer diagnosis at a young age.

For Phuong Gallagher, whose stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis at age 29 soon progressed to stage 4, survivorship felt isolating.

“When I looked around the cancer center, all I saw were people at least twice my age,” she says. “There was nobody who was going through the career- or family-planning decisions that I had to make suddenly.”

Now, 18 years post-diagnosis at age 47, Phuong is still undergoing treatment and clinical trials at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, under the care of oncologist Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD.

She also works as a patient and research advocate.

Here are Phuong’s tips to other young cancer patients:

Seek a second opinion

It’s hard to make decisions in the absence of information. If you’re not getting the answers you need, seek a second opinion, or a third or a fourth.

Find a community

Either in person or online, it helps to talk to people who really get it. The first time that I met others in my position, it was life-changing. I no longer felt so alone in my cancer journey.

Look for a forward-thinking cancer center

Immediately, Dr. Lenz did a full genetic panel and identified my biomarkers. We often discuss clinical trials to explore when appropriate. It’s the opposite of my previous treatment, and especially important because there have been tremendous advances in treatments.

Consider treatments’ long-term effects

It’s worth considering all available options, because some treatments have long-lasting impacts. Because we are now living longer, those long-term effects can play a big role in your quality of life.

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