In the past 20 years, cancer incidence in young adults has doubled. The grand total: 70,000 diagnosis each year. Ouch. How about some salt for that wound: Cancer survival rates in young adults have not improved over the past 30 years, mostly due to delayed diagnosis. Want more?

The medical community at large is grossly uneducated about how to effectively communicate, treat, and follow-up with young adults. And the number one social issue faced by young cancer survivors is isolation. In a nutshell, young adults are a critically underserved population whose needs (fertility, education, sexuality, peer support, financial aid, insurance, employment) are so different than the needs of other age groups.

How do I know all of this? Because I just grabbed these facts and figures from young adult cancer survivor Matthew Zachary's website I'm Too Young For This -- or i[2]y -- which happens to offer the latest and greatest information for the under-40 population grappling with cancer health issues. It's a place Zachary hopes sticks around for a very long time.

For seventeen months now, Zachary has been hosting this place where young adults can mix and mingle and improve their quality of life. In order to keep his machine going strong, he needs some help. Some financial help.

If you are willing and able to support this growing organization with a tax deductible donation, check out The Stupid Cancer Fund at http://fund.i2y.com. If you can't donate, then I hope you'll still check out i[2]y -- for yourself, a friend, a loved one, or an acquaintance. Anyone young, and touched by cancer, and wishing to be heard.