Cactus Cancer Society

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Oakland, CA
Cactus Cancer Society

We run online programs focused on survivorship care + peer to peer connection.

Cactus Cancer Society (formerly Lacuna Loft) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that encourages, empowers, and connects young adult cancer survivors and caregivers around the globe, 24/7. Cactus Cancer Society (formerly Lacuna Loft) is a nonprofit organization offering lifestyle support for young adult cancer & chronic illness patients, survivors, & caregivers. Our flagship program features an online magazine

with daily articles on everything lifestyle maintenance and psychosocial support for these young adults. Future programs include an online wellness workshop as well as online support groups. We seek to offer age-appropriate resources and tools for young adults facing dramatic health concerns to adapt their once bustling lifestyle to fit their new challenges. We offer the lifestyle and psychosocial support that many clinical resources neglect. Lacuna Loft shares stories to end isolation and provide an outlet for these young adults to learn to live vibrantly in a new normal.

08/25/2026

Meet Dennis! 💛

Dennis is part of our amazing guest faculty team. He's been leading our Guys Discussion Group for years, but always brings a fresh perspective, combined with experience to the conversation.

Dennis has worked with teens and young adults since 1988, and has since been a teacher, counselor, medical social worker, and mental health specialist with Kaiser Permanente in Denver. Guys in the discussion group have compared him to a calm, confident captain who always guides the ship safely into port - just the kind of calming presence you want involved in vulnerable, honest, and candid conversations.

🌵We’re really lucky to have him in this community! Guys, check out our Discussion Group each month to meet Dennis on Zoom!

08/18/2026

It's back, baby: Sketchy Business is here to infuse some artistic freedom into your day! Whether you're a seasoned artist or a "just in the margins of my school assignments" practitioner, you'll love the quirky prompts with art therapy roots that are served up week after week. Nothing special - whether it's a rogue marker, a restaurant pack of crayons, or the pen you've had forever, it will work!

A prompt, a reminder to check in with your body, ten minutes to create, and sharing: the perfect recipe for a half-hour dose of creativity, 30 minutes to drop in every Tuesday starting at 9am PT/ 10am MT/ 11am CT /12pm ET.

Come as you are and stay as long as you’d like. Learn more on our website: https://cactuscancer.org/programs/sketchy-business/

08/13/2026

Some people might say that their bodies are temples, but our bodies are also a lot like cars: unexpectedly expensive, occasionally parts need to be removed or replaced, and they need a check-in with an expert at various mile markers. Your car gets an oil change, but what about your spirit or your creativity? For that, there's 30 Minute Tune Up.

Join the facilitator our community crowned the Cancer Fairy Godmother, Jean Rowe, a Certified Journal Therapist, today and every Thursday for a drop-in program. Starting at 9am PT / 10am MT / 11am CT / 12pm ET, you'll join your young adult cancer peers for a journaling prompt, wisdom from Jean, and additional listening and community. And because it's a drop-in program, there's no need to commit: just pay attention to when your Check Engine light pops up.

To sign up to receive the link, check out our website: https://cactuscancer.org/programs/30-minute-tune-up. One registration and you'll be reminded weekly, in case it's the right time to see your pit crew.

08/11/2026

Health care professionals, we see you. Your time is limited, meaningful continuing education opportunities are few and far between, and resources on how to work with the unique challenges the young adult cancer population faces are rare. All this is why we created our Continuing Education resources, hosted on Kajabi. Two fully online, self-paced courses for social workers, The Full Picture of AYA Cancer and The Art of Survivorship, are yours - and when you purchase the two-course bundle, you get $30 off.

Dive into the most necessary information: we'll cover fertility, sexuality, survivorship care, anxiety, fatigue, fear of recurrence, and the practical application you can start using the very next day -- not an imagined time in the future.

To learn more, visit the link our website: https://cactuscancer.org/programs/ya-cancer-ce-course-bundle/

08/10/2026

Are you as excited as we are for the return of our favorite coach? Ted Lasso Season 4 is here, and to celebrate, we are taking note of his self-care reminders!

Today, we're here to remind you to be gentle with yourself.

"Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain't warmed up properly, something real bad could happen."

Whether you apply this to your physical body or your pre-caffeinated mind, give yourself a moment to warm up to your day. Do some gentle stretches in bed. Take a moment for three deep breaths before you scroll on to the next social media post. Before sending off the next MyChart message or email, remind yourself that you're doing a good job navigating being a thinking, feeling human being in a messy, complicated world.

08/05/2026

You've been enjoying your coffee throughout July, or sipped from your water bottle or iced matcha. But it's felt like something is... missing. We've felt the same way. And the great news is: Coffee and Oodles is back TODAY!

Whether you've awaited this news with eager anticipation or are better defined as doodle-curious, you're invited to join us each and every Wednesday, beginning 11am PT / 12pm MT/ 1pm CT/ 2pm ET. For this half-hour drop-in, you'll join other young adults facing cancer and respond to a prompt curated to intrigue your creative brain. After time to write and doodle, you'll enjoy time to share your response with others and hear theirs. Community, creativity, understanding. There's not much that's better than that.

Visit our website to sign up for the Zoom link: https://cactuscancer.org/programs/oodles-of-thoughts-a-doodle-journal-workshop/

08/03/2026

Calling all World Cup fans and believers alike: Ted Lasso is returning, and to celebrate, we are taking note of his self-care reminders!

Today we are highlighting our favorite Kansas character and his instructions on forgiving our mistakes.

"You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It's a goldfish. It's got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish."

When you get out there today, whether it's on the pitch or in the waiting room, forgive yourself for any errors or mistakes. You're human; it's bound to happen. Embody the goldfish. Swish your tail and swim on, friends.

07/31/2026

There’s something really special about watching a group of young adults impacted by cancer settle into creating together. Someone is carefully painting tiny details, someone else is covered in marker smudges five minutes in, somebody says “wait… I actually love this,” and little by little the room starts to feel lighter. 🎨🌵

Our art workshops are designed to offer space for creativity, expression, reflection, and community in the middle of experiences that can often feel clinical, overwhelming, or isolating. You do not need artistic experience to belong here. You just need a willingness to show up and make something alongside people who understand.

We’ll bring the prompts, supplies, and encouragement. You bring yourself.

Check out upcoming workshops on our website and come create with us. 💚

07/30/2026

Cancer has a way of showing you who will stay beside you through the strange, difficult, and deeply vulnerable parts of life. 💚🌵

On International Day of Friendship, we’re thinking about the people who bring comfort during long appointments, send check-in texts at exactly the right moment, sit with us in uncertainty, make us laugh when things feel impossibly heavy, and remind us that we are still ourselves beyond diagnosis, treatment, or survivorship.

So many meaningful friendships are formed inside communities like this one, where young adults impacted by cancer can connect with people who truly understand the experience without needing every detail explained.

Today feels like a good day to let those people know they matter.

Tag a friend who has been part of your support system or share a little love with someone who has helped you feel less alone. 🫶

07/27/2026

Sometimes you just want a space where you don’t have to explain the dark humor, the frustration, the weirdness of your body, or why cancer as a young adult can feel so isolating.

Guys Discussion Group is a virtual space for men impacted by cancer to talk honestly about life, treatment, survivorship, relationships, stress, identity, and whatever else shows up that day. No presentations. No pressure. Just real conversation and community with people who get it. 🌵

Some conversations get heavy. Some somehow end in laughing until your face hurts. Most are a mix of both.

Join us today at 5:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm CT / 8:00 pm ET on Zoom.

Learn more and register through our website. 💚

Address

Oakland, CA

Website

https://cactuscancer.org/

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