Young adulthood is full of challenges, but when a cancer diagnosis enters the picture, things get really intense, really fast. Fresh out of undergrad at 24, my life changed overnight when the symptoms I’d been having for nearly a year turned out to be Hodgkin lymphoma – cancer.

Kim Hoffman and Josh Woda, both Hodgkin lymphoma survivors who were each diagnosed in college, reconnected years later after relapsing and eventually fell in love. Their journey is a beautiful reminder that shared experiences can forge powerful bonds and healing hope. A truly uplifting story for anyone in the Hodgkin’s community looking for connection and inspiration.

Jennifer Young, a melanoma survivor, reflects on what it meant to see her daughter reach age 19, the same age she was when she was first diagnosed. She shares how her cancer experience made her more resilient, more empathetic, and more grateful for everyday moments.

In this powerful advocacy piece, Phuong Ly Gallagher and Erin Cummings, both cancer survivors and dedicated advocates, share their personal stories to raise awareness in the medical community. Their message is clear: cancer survivorship does not end with remission.

MIT researcher Regina Barzilay and her team developed an AI model called MIRAI that analyzes mammograms for subtle patterns associated with future breast cancer and estimates a patient’s risk up to five years into the future. The model has now been validated on roughly 2 million mammograms across 48 hospitals in 22 countries. What makes this especially interesting from a cancer survivorship perspective is the possibility of moving away from a one size fits all approach to screening and toward care based on individual risk.

A promising approach featured in the article is survivorship-focused primary care, where physicians trained in both oncology and internal medicine provide ongoing, comprehensive care. Early results show this model improves screening, identifies late effects sooner, and enhances quality of life. For Hodgkin lymphoma survivors, who often face serious late effects years or decades after treatment, this kind of care could be life‑saving.

Actor Barry Watson shares his journey from a Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis to over a decade of survivorship. His story highlights the importance of a positive attitude and the support of others during treatment and recovery.

The work of Hodgkin’s International was prominently mentioned, as was our symposium in Boston on the late effects of cancer treatment.

Though my pediatric oncology fellowship equipped me to deliver difficult diagnoses and navigate end-of-life conversations, it never prepared me to face the grief that lingers long after cancer is gone. We are trained to fight the disease, but not to help patients cope with the haunting reality that, for many of them, they will never fully reclaim the life they once knew before cancer.

Here is a powerful, well-told story about the importance of getting a second opinion. Katie Doble’s harrowing tale of her fight to survive a Stage IV diagnosis is more than inspiring – it’s a life lesson in doing your homework, and, above all, never giving up.