BOSTON (WHDH) - For cancer survivors, the journey does not end when treatment is over.
Doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are studying ways to help young women who survived breast cancer get their lives back to normal.
“After a diagnosis of breast cancer, it can be hard for anybody. But, for young women, after diagnosis, it is particularly hard sometimes as they enter into their survivorship period,” Dana-Farber’s Dr. Ann Partridge said.
This statement could not ring more true for Jeannie Karwowski, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30.
Karwowski was a newlywed who had just moved to Massachusetts when her world turned upside down.
“I thought I was cancer-proof just because I am young,” she said.
After a rigorous course of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and hormone therapy, Karwowski was told she was cancer free.
However, as a young survivor, her battle was not over.
Physical recovery and side effects collided with emotional concerns such as fears about her future, and her ability to start a family.
Partridge says that young women often require more help than the basic support group can provide.
That is where she says the Pathways to Wellness study might be able to help.
Researchers are looking at how mindful meditation, as well as survivorship education, affects the lives of breast cancer survivors under the age of 50.
“So if we are able to figure out that even these markers of stress get better, beyond people just feeling better after an intervention like mindfulness or feeling more educated, then maybe we can write a prescription for these things because ultimately it is going to make you live longer, live better,” Partridge said.
Karwowski attended these interactive classes and completed the education program.
In her opinion, being surrounded by women at a similar stage in their life as herself has changed her life for the better.
“No one should suffer after their cancer treatment is over,” Karwowski said.
For more information on the Pathways to Wellness study visit the young and strong program for young women with breast cancer webpage.
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