Rewriting the Cancer Treatment Story: How BoStrong Advocates for Young Adults’ Health and Healing
December 8, 2024 | Author: Kathy Oliver
In 2024, approximately 84,100 young adults and their families will hear some of the scariest words ever…YOU HAVE CANCER. That equates to ten new diagnoses every hour and roughly 9,000 young adults will die this year.
Survival rates in young adults have not changed much in recent DECADES, unlike the improvements seen in many cancers in children and older adults. Many treatment protocols for young adults still follow standard adult cancer guidelines. Drugs used are often over 20 years old!
Only 4-5% of all funding raised for cancer research is specifically allocated for young adults. OUR KIDS DESERVE MORE THAN 4-5%!!!
Traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation often have significant, long-lasting side effects that disproportionately affect young adults. Side effects such as fertility issues, cardiotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and even secondary cancers due to these treatments add long term challenges.
We need treatments for young adults that are targeted – ones that can seek out and destroy cancer cells only, leaving healthy ones alone. Non-traditional treatments can be used along with traditional methods or as stand-alone treatments.
That’s where BoStrong comes in. The BoStrong Foundation was started in 2017 in memory of Harry Sinclair Oliver V, known as Bo. He was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma at the age of 15, as a sophomore in high school. Bo’s initial course of treatment included 7 months of intense chemotherapy, radiation, and then a stem cell transplant, to which his body’s response was very positive. We believed this positive response was the result of the holistic supportive treatments he received in conjunction with the traditional regimen.
He was declared NED (No Evidence of Disease) in January 2013 but in March 2014, the cancer returned once again. This time, a donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) was recommended and performed requiring him to temporarily stop some of the supportive therapies that had been helping him so much.
In May of 2015, we were told by our doctors that they had no further options to help Bo. Please know that when a doctor says “there is nothing more that can be done”, what they are really saying is “there is nothing more I can do”. At that point, Bo’s entire treatment regimen was converted to 100% holistic. We saw a significant reduction in the size of Bo’s tumors as a result of his holistic treatments.
Unfortunately, his body was battered by the traditional treatments. On June 1, 2016, Bo lost the toughest battle of his life. He faced the disease with a resilience, strength and faith that was awe inspiring. As any parent can attest, moments with your child are priceless. Due to the holistic therapies that we used, we were blessed with more of those priceless moments.
Having choices and understanding options is critical when traveling through a cancer journey. The BoStrong Foundation strives to provide information, education, resources and shared experiences for young adults and their support systems exploring holistic treatment options.
We have done the research, and we have used these non-traditional therapies and vetted the practitioners and practices listed on our website. The BoStrong Foundation provides funding, in the form of wellness grants, for non-traditional treatments that are not covered by insurance. We feel strongly that a lack of resources should not dictate anyone’s treatment options.
Music was a core part of Bo’s being his whole life. Music served as a wonderful therapy for Bo throughout this journey. He was an accomplished musician and luthier, a craftsman of guitars, who completed several restoration projects.
The BoStrong Foundation has built a 500 sq ft music therapy room in the basement of the Ulman House. The Ulman House is a multi-family facility just 3 blocks from Johns Hopkins Hospital that provides free housing for young adult cancer patients and their caregivers.
Young adults with cancer often have many different challenges that they face that extend beyond the physical piece of their disease. Music therapy can help patients develop coping strategies to deal with the many complex stressors of living a life with a cancer diagnosis. Bo’s own words describe the power of music best:
“Every second I was on the inpatient floor I was playing my guitar. I truly believe that the guitar made me feel better. Music has such a way of relaxing you. I know for me I get sucked into my playing. I’m in a different world. Whether I’m on stage with my band or in a dinky hospital bed with my amp plugged in next to me playing for my family and the nurses along with anyone else that wanted to hear. Music is a medicine that did more for me than chemo ever did. Chemo wasn’t there to take away the stress of having cancer and it certainly didn’t make my time in the hospital enjoyable. Music made that experience bearable.”
Bo’s fight may have ended, but his legacy continues through the BoStrong Foundation, providing young adults with cancer the opportunity to choose a different path. As Bo once said, shortly before he died, “Please do whatever you can to make this fight easier for other kids”. Fight with us.
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