Help Dear Jack fully fund 2023 programs for young adult cancer patients and survivors.
LifeList is a wish-granting program that offers hope and support to young adults who are currently receiving treatment for a life-threatening diagnosis. This program provides positive experiences to focus on during treatment and an opportunity to connect with a community of young adult patients, survivors, and advocates who have experienced similar journeys.
Applications are currently closed and will reopen on Friday, September 29th at 10 am MT and remain open until Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 10 am MT. Any applications received during that timeframe will be considered. If you submit an application during this time, you will receive an email by the end of day on October 5th, 2023 notifying you whether or not you have been selected for the next step of the process. Those that are selected will receive a text and an email informing them that they have been moved forward in the process and will have four days to complete the full application that will be linked in the email. If the second application is not completed in that time your application will no longer be accepted. Those who are not selected will receive an email with information about how to apply again in the future and an invitation to join our online community.
Applications are currently closed and will reopen on Friday, September 29th at 10 am MT and remain open until Thursday, October 5th at 10 am MST.
If you are a young adult, ages 18-39, currently in treatment for cancer, you may qualify for the LifeList program. To receive an email prior to the next application cycle, please fill out the interest form linked above.
The LifeList program serves cancer patients who are between the ages of 18-39, currently receiving active treatment, and meet one of the following criteria:
The LifeList program has one week at the beginning of each quarter when we accept applications. The dates for 2023 are below and will open and close at 10 am MST on those dates. Any applications received during that time frame will be considered. On the close of application day, all applicants will receive an email letting them know if they have been selected to move forward in the process or not. A program application link will be available on the Dear Jack Foundation website at www.dearjackfoundation.org/lifelist.
The average value for a LifeList program participant wish is $2000, which includes donated items.
LifeList program participants are an active part of the program for a total of 6 months from the date of acceptance. All LifeList wishes must be completed or ordered within those 6 months. Please be aware of your health status and the reality of being able to fulfill your requests within that time frame.
Dear Jack Foundation is unable to accept wish requests for VISA/AMEX/Amazon gift cards, cash, or financial assistance (rent, mortgage, home repairs, car payments, student loan payments, medical expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, credit card payments, etc).
While Dear Jack strives to make wishes come true, we reserve the right to deny a wish or request modifications. If Dear Jack has concerns about your wishes, we will communicate appropriately with you and work together to create the best experience for you.
"I was happier than I'd ever been gaining momentum in my career and looking forward to my future ahead. Cancer brought all of that to a hard stop."
"Being away from my family for treatment has been really heartbreaking but I'm so grateful for FaceTime"
"Sometimes life has its curveballs, but you can live a meaningful life where you can accomplish all your dreams despite your diagnosis"
"One of the most difficult aspects of having cancer is being afraid of when it comes back- especially when your cancer is supposed to grow back because of its mutation rate. It's not a matter of if, but when."
"The past year has taught me that making memories with the people I love is the most valuable gift."
"I would like to live out the rest of my time on earth doing things to benefit my well being and to inspire those around me."
"The end may be near and I won't be able to experience a lot of things young adults take for granted..."
"It will be relieving to connect with others who understand the experience of cancer as a young adult."
"Rather than being defined by my passions, my accomplishments, my family, or my goals, I am now in many ways defined by my diagnosis, and that has been extremely hard to accept. "
"Losing my leg has been the most difficult part of treatment. I know I will still achieve my goals, but this has been a difficult setback"
"My health was limiting me from enjoying the life I could've been living in college. "
"The feeling of having a disease is a very excluding feeling. It’s a hard lonely feeling that no one should experience. I want to feel like there’s good in the world."
"My timeline may have just significantly shrunk, and there's still so much in life I want. "
"I get overwhelmed more easily and tire more easily which sometimes feels heartbreaking when you feel like you can't be the mom and wife you want to be."
"I am so sad that I will never be the woman I once was. She is gone. She is now consumed with worry, insecurities, doubt, and anger."
"My new path is paved with uncertainty, but hope still pushes all my steps forward"
"I have a cancer that people in their 80s get and I haven't even started living my life"
""Cancer has already taken a lot from me. It has put a strain on my life and tainted holidays and birthdays that I can't get back""
"The most difficult aspect of being a young adult with cancer is being a mom to a young boy. I hate that he has a sick mother."
"Our "light" in the darkness of this year has been our daughter who keeps us going every day."
"I do my best to make the whole process look easy, but at the end of the day it truly is a job of its own"
"I just want to be normal again and it's difficult to feel any sense of normal when you have cancer."
"It is hard seeing everyone around me enjoying life and here I am with this hand of cards that is anything but exciting"
"Literally every single day is a challenge, and some days I overcome that challenge more easily than others"
"It's definitely hard seeing everyone live their lives, while I'm stuck in the same cycle for almost two years now"
"One of the most difficult parts of having cancer as a young person is finding other people with similar experiences."
"I’ve missed out on sports seasons in high school, family and friend events, activities and vacations that I will never get back"
"One of the most difficult things has been not being able to do things I used to do before having cancer"
"Having cancer has created a loneliness unlike anything I've ever experienced in my life"
"As a young adult, it has been hard losing so much independence and being so reliant on other people"
"I miss being able to think of the distant future without the glooming thought of cancer recurrence."
"My days before my diagnosis were always filled to the brim full of meaning and hard work, now they are now filled with appointments, pills, procedures. The drastic change was hard, but the drive to return to my old life is what keeps me going."
"It's also very hard to see people my age traveling and enjoying their life as my days are spent at John Stoddard Cancer Center "
