The mission of Healthy Young Attitude (HYA) is to provide support, information, and community to adolescents and young adults who are dealing with the physical and psychological effects of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

HYA’s beginnings can be traced to Peter Morey, who was diagnosed with melanoma and treated successfully at 16 when he was in high school in Mountain View. When Peter was in his early twenties and studying at UCLA, the melanoma returned. This time it had metastasized to his

brain. Despite monthly chemo treatments and numerous surgeries, he was able to graduate from UCLA.

Peter was never able to locate a support group of people his own age, finding only groups consisting of people much older than he was. Unfortunately, Peter passed away, but his mom, Ann, decided to create a support group in his honor that was dedicated to adolescents and young adults. With help from the San Jose chapter of the American Cancer Society and a few cancer veterans, HYA was founded in April of 1996 in the heart of Silicon Valley.

HYA meets monthly and is open to patients, survivors, caregivers, friends, and family members. HYA also holds quarterly social events, where members have played bocce ball and laser tag, gone to concerts and sporting events, and enjoyed each other’s company at BBQs and holiday parties. Monthly meetings often take place with little mention of anything cancer-related, but can quickly switch into an in-depth discussion of treatments, clinical trials, side effects, and returning to the "new normal."

Each year approx 70,000 young adults will hear the words "you have cancer." Young adults who actually like to talk about their feelings and seek out a support group are pretty rare, which is why it makes sense to connect via the internet in addition to meeting in real life. HYA’s Facebook page is a place to find each other, build camaraderie, learn about resources, share our collective knowledge and wisdom, blow off steam, and get inspiration from the good news of our members. We hope to give you a lot, but we are no substitute for real-life friends, family, or a good therapist. We are not doctors and do not provide medical treatment information.

So have you or somebody you know or love been diagnosed with cancer? It's tough. We know. If you want to hear from other people who have been there, we would like to help. Join us. We are just a "like" away.