Over the course of their cancer treatments, Stoffers and DeBoer shared the speed bumps and roadblocks that are part of the experience. Their friendship was so impressive, their fertility doctor introduced them to another young breast cancer survivor, Alli. When they met for coffee the first time, she in turn brought along Amy and Cori. Just like the shampoo ad — but with a far more important impact. In 2017, the five women founded the nonprofit Young Advocacy and Support (YAS for short). Being part of a cancer support group sometimes means having to say goodbye too soon to someone you’ve grown to love. Tragically, co-founder Alli lost her battle in 2018. But her strong spirit lives on in the organization’s three- pronged mission. First, they support other young women survivors by providing them one-on-one mentoring. Nothing can replace talking to another woman who really understands because she’s actually been in the trenches. “When you get cancer before 40, it’s hard to find someone to connect with,” DeBoer said, “someone who understands that you haven’t even lived half of your life yet. YAS connects us all in a big way via social media. We can answer questions or calm fears instantaneously. And we have small monthly get-togethers to ensure each woman knows we’re in the fight with them. We talk and occasionally shed a tear, but mostly we laugh.” Stoffers provides the perfect example of that latter point. “If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I was too young to have cancer, I could pay for my frozen children to go through college!” DeBoer follows with, “Getting ready in the morning takes only a few minutes when you’re bald!” Move over Lucy and Ethel, there’s a new game in town. YAS’s second goal is to advocate for fertility education. That means educating not just patients, but everyone in the oncology field. The aim is to bring that 50 percent statistic from darkness to enlightenment. Finally, via fundraising and events, the group’s last goal is to create scholarships for fertility treatments. Cancer is not something one budgets for and neither are fertility treatments. Consequently, they become an unexpected — and often heart-wrenching — out-of-pocket expense. Not only will YAS scholarships relieve this financial burden, they will give hope to young survivors for the many things possible in life after cancer. Proof positive of those possibilities has recently come in the form of exciting news from YAS co-founder Brittany DeBoer. Prior to cancer treatment, she and her husband preserved eggs and are now expecting twins! It’s doubtful the ad men who conceived that shampoo ad three decades ago ever considered their concept might have such a powerful outcome as this. But YAS proves it. Many women … many stories … many gifts. And so on and so on. To learn more, go to facebook.com/youngadvocacyandsupportYAS . Judy Pearson CONTRIBUTING WRITER info@A2ndAct.org Dr. Shane Lipskind ( above left ) connected several young women going through cancer, which was the seed for starting YAS. A core belief of YAS members is that friends don’t let friends fight cancer alone. So the group supports, educates and has fun together at outings and events. 36 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | OCTOBER 2019

SOJOURNER CENTER | WWW.SOJOURNERCENTER.ORG | (602) 244-0997 P.O. Box 20156 Phoenix, AZ 85036 501 (c) (3) 94-2465081 | Qualifying Charitable Organization #20544 REMEMBER, TODAY YOU CAN PUT YOUR COMPASSION INTO ACTION BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ARIZONA’S CHARITABLE TAX CREDIT. You still have up to April 15th to make your gift of $400 or $800 and claim it on your 2018 Arizona tax return. Your gift of $400 gives Sojourner Center’s children the opportunity to feel safe enough to get a restful, peaceful night of sleep — every night! Your gift of $800 provides programs that teach our participants the value of spending quality time with their healing children as a healthy replacement to the violence they once endured… https://www.sojournercenter.org/donate/ Sojourner Center wouldn’t be able to overcome the impact of domestic violence, one life at a time without your support. We’ve thrived for over 40 years, with your help we will make it another 40 years! “A KIND GESTURE CAN REACH A WOUND THAT ONLY COMPASSION CAN HEAL.” Steve Maraboli