Some 600 Finns aged 18 to 35 are diagnosed with cancer each year. Young people are often overlooked as a demographic of cancer sufferers.
"Young adults are a small group when compared to the other age groups with cancer," says expert Anna-Elina Rahikainen who works for Sylva ry, a national association for young cancer patients.
Rahikainen is a cancer survivor herself. The idea for a theme week for young adults with cancer came to her from her own experiences, and as part of her job as an adviser for Sylva. On her initiative, week 14 – April 4-10 – will mark the first official 'Fuck Cancer' week, during which awareness of the challenges and rights of young adults with cancer will be raised.
The campaign has already caught the attention of many on social media with videos and stories produced by the young adults themselves.
"We want these people to be able to communicate their experiences to people who are just finding out or dealing with the shock of cancer," Rahikainen says. "The aim is also move decision-makers and workers in the social and welfare sector to take young adults better into consideration."
No complaints over four-letter moniker
The Fuck Cancer campaign in Finland hopes to boost awareness of cancer in young adults for one week each year. The name has been used previously in other campaigns worldwide, but Sylva has decided to use it in relation to this specific campaign.
The curse word "fuck" in the title of the project caused some concern in the association at first, as it also works as a cancer advocate for young children and families.
"We talked at length about how people would take it, but we decided to take a calculated risk. I haven't received any negative feedback from the name so I suppose we made the right decision," Rahikainen says.
On the contrary, the feedback Sylva has received about the campaign has been nothing but positive. Compliments abound over the name's attention-catching nature.
"The last thing we want to do is to downplay the seriousness of the issue. We are committed to expressing the value of the attitude that it is possible to live with cancer and to lead a normal life despite it," Rahikainen says. "And it's an issue of courage and openness. There's no reason to shrink away from someone diagnosed with cancer. It's worth asking how a person is doing, and to mean it."
