When she was 21 years old, advocate Samantha Watson was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma. In this Voices on Cancer post, she describes her journey, how she helps young adults with the financial effects of cancer, and 5 critical qualities for advocates.
Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases. It can develop almost anywhere in the body.
Cells are the basic units that make up the human body. Cells grow and divide to make new cells as the body needs them. Usually, cells die when they get too old or damaged. Then, new cells take their place.
Watch the "Moving Forward" video series for young adults, adapted from this content.
Having cancer as a young adult or teenager is very different from having it as a child or later in life. Getting a diagnosis and treatment can be challenging for many reasons. For example:
ON THIS PAGE: You will find some basic information about this disease and the parts of the body it may affect. This is the first page of Cancer.Net’s Guide to Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma. Use the menu to see other pages. Think of that menu as a roadmap for this entire guide.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find some basic information about this disease and the parts of the body it may affect. This is the first page of Cancer.Net’s Guide to Soft-Tissue Sarcomas. Use the menu to see other pages. Think of that menu as a roadmap for this entire guide.
ON THIS PAGE: You will learn about how doctors describe a cancer’s growth or spread. This is called the stage. Use the menu to see other pages.
Staging is a way of describing where the tumor is located, if or where it has spread, and whether it is affecting other parts of the body.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find a list of common tests, procedures, and scans that doctors use to find the cause of a medical problem. Use the menu to see other pages.
Doctors use many tests to find, or diagnose, cancer. They also do tests to learn if cancer has spread to another part of the body from where it started. If the cancer has spread, it is called metastasis. Doctors may also do tests to learn which treatments could work best.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find out more about the changes and medical problems that can be a sign of Ewing sarcoma. Use the menu to see other pages.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find some basic information about Ewing sarcoma and the parts of the body it may affect. This is the first page of Cancer.Net’s Guide to Ewing Sarcoma - Childhood and Adolescence. Use the menu to see other pages. Think of that menu as a roadmap for this entire guide.
ON THIS PAGE: You will find some basic information about this disease and the parts of the body it may affect. This is the first page of Cancer.Net’s Guide to Stomach Cancer. Use the menu to see other pages. Think of that menu as a roadmap for this entire guide.
