Cancer survivors share their stories and their lives with NPR: NPR

Many survivors say life after cancer can be more difficult than treatment.

People like Lourdes Monje, diagnosed at 25, talk about feeling deprived of their youth, its sense of invulnerability and promise. Although the vast majority of pediatric patients now survive cancer, those like EJ Beck, diagnosed at age 10, and Brendan Harley, diagnosed at 17, say they continue to live in the shadow of the disease, overcoming its effects on their academic and psychological development for decades.

The practical consequences, particularly for young survivors, add to challenges in everything from fertility to family to finances.

Social isolation is perhaps the most common side effect of cancer, leaving emotional scars that take longer to heal, as was the case for Chelsey Gomez and Ashley Levinson, who were victims of “ghosts of the cancer,” even from close friends and family.

Companionship, especially in online support communities, is often a powerful antidote through which survivors find true understanding. But Benjamin Stein-Lobovits says these spaces are often harder to access for men, because the vulnerability that comes with cancer seems at odds with male social pressures to be strong and self-reliant.

Even though there are many more survivors among us, these struggles often go unspoken or unnoticed. Some of the most sensitive topics are never discussed in a doctor’s office, like how to date or have sex after cancer. Deltra James and Abigail Glavy discovered that the disease had radically reordered their relationships, not only with others, but also with their own altered bodies.

Discover their stories and more in our Life After Diagnosis series.

Reporting by Yuki Noguchi. Design by Juweek Adolphe. Photo editing and creative direction by Katie Hayes Luke.