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Home arrow Skinny Tire Festival arrow Living Well arrow A Personal Story of Illness and Action - Doug Ulman
A Personal Story of Illness and Action - Doug Ulman Print E-mail
Monday, 13 November 2006
In August of 1996 a doctor said, "Doug, you have cancer." I was shocked. I was nineteen year's old and in top physical shape without any known symptoms. I was preparing for the upcoming college soccer season as a member of the nationally ranked Brown University Men's Soccer Team. I had never studied cancer and I felt so naïve. My parents cried and we all stared at the red brick walls of the physician's office. I don't remember another word that was uttered. Pure shock. My emotional rollercoaster continued with fear, denial, anger and frustration. How could this happen? Why now? What did this mean?
Soon after having a chest resection which removed the tumor that was lodged between my lung, spine and ribs, I returned to school and eventually returned to the soccer field, something doctor's didn't think was initially possible. I started to live and yet I yearned for something more. I wanted to talk to others. I wanted to hear form others who had survived. I wanted to learn from others who had been down this road. After exploring many organizations and unsuccessfully searching for other young adults I decided that there was a major gap in resources for young adults with cancer.
 

My initial suspicion regarding a lack of young adult resources was confirmed when I was diagnosed two different types of melanoma in the ensuing 10 months. I had gone from a perfectly healthy, fit, college student-athlete, to a three-time cancer survivor in less than a year. All of this happening prior to my 20th birthday. Wow. I was beginning to learn what life is all about. It is about bouncing back after dealing with life's challenges and barriers. It is about sharing your experience for the benefit of others. It is about advocating for yourself. And most importantly, it is about trying to make the world a better place for those who will have to experience this disease in the future. I took this responsibility, this obligation, very seriously.
 

I founded The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults (UCF - www.ulmanfund.org) in 1997 to address a void in health care and psychosocial support services for young adults living with cancer. Based in Columbia, MD the UCF is one of the first, and the largest organization in the country solely supporting young adults living with cancer. The UCF's work as an organization is guided by its stated mission- to provide support programs, education and resources, free of charge, to benefit young adults, their families and friends, who are affected by cancer, and promote awareness and prevention of cancer.
 

In less than a decade UCF has grown from a small, local non-profit to an organization with national reach and impact. Dividing its programmatic efforts into patient advocacy, education and support, the UCF provides programs and services that reach thousands of young adults annually covering individuals, families and cancer centers in all 50 US States. UCF's accomplishments include a National College Scholarship Program that addresses the financial needs of young adults who are survivors themselves or have a parent with cancer; the "No Way, It Can't Be!" guidebook for young adults facing cancer written by UCF founder Doug Ulman and his mother Diana; responsible for starting professionally facilitated support groups in multiple states throughout the country; and an on-line survivors/loved one network and discussion forums which connect people with similar cancer experiences and diagnoses. Since inception in 1997, the UCF has supported, educated and connected more than 50,000 young adults by dedicating more than $1 million to develop and deliver quality programs all across the country.
 

In 2001, I decided to take a full-time position with the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and since then the UCF and the LAF have worked collaboratively on many initiatives targeting young adults. We have just recently partnered on a new venture which will undoubtedly increase the survival and quality of life for all young adults with cancer.
 

New Partnership
 

The Lance Armstrong Foundation formed the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance with the knowledge that unity is strength - working together we can raise awareness and effect positive change for young adults with cancer. The Alliance has brought together key voices in the cancer community to improve the survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer.
 

Guided by the research and advocacy recommendations of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Progress Review Group, the Alliance is leading a coordinated national effort to address those factors that contribute to the unequal burden of cancer experienced by young adults. The Alliance is committed to promoting research and the investigation of the problem, serving as a voice for the issue and promoting effective solutions. The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults is proud to be a founding member, and UCF's Executive Director, Brock Yetso, is honored to serve on the steering committee for this effort.
 

Together, we can fundamentally change the outcomes for so many young adults with cancer.
 

Doug Ulman
Chief Mission Officer
Lance Armstrong Foundation
p 512.279.8385
f 512.347.1582
www.livestrong.org

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