‘Too Young For Cancer’ Author on the Importance of Advocating for Yourself

Katie Coleman hopes her story can help other people through their cancer journeys.

Coleman, who was diagnosed with a rare stage 4 kidney cancer at the age of 29, is the author of the new book “Too Young for Cancer: One Woman's Battle for a Diagnosis and a Fighting Chance,” now available from Alcove Press.

“As I went through my diagnosis, I ended up documenting it through social media, and then as things started to take a turn and go a little bit better for me, I knew that I wanted to be able to help share what some of those very real experiences [were], especially early on in my diagnosis,” Coleman told CURE® in an interview. “I wanted to share what that was like to be able to hopefully help somebody else one day who might be going through something similar.”

Coleman received a diagnosis of stage 4 oncocytoma. As the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research explained in a 2022 article, that comprises 15% to 20% of kidney tumors and is typically benign. Coleman’s tumor had spread, making it likely the only known case in the country and one of just a few in the world, according to the article.

Coleman, who said she is donating her proceeds from “Too Young for Cancer” to fund research, spoke with CURE® about the importance of patients’ self-advocacy while navigating the medical system, and the power of vulnerability.

Transcript:

I think probably my biggest hope is that people will learn how to advocate for themselves. I had no idea how to navigate the medical system as I was going through my diagnosis, which you can really see in those first chapters, and I made a very intentional effort when I wrote this book to show both sides of it. Because looking back with hindsight, I can see all of the feelings that I was experiencing through those moments, which I included in the book. But then I also was able to look back with hindsight on what the experience was from the medical professionals on the other side of it as well, too. So, I wanted to make sure that I included the pieces that really made a difference for me, like even just tiny, small moments of empathy, and how those would end up becoming catalysts.

For example, I mentioned a nurse practitioner in an urgent care that ended up being the one that sent me to the ER when my cancer was found, and how even just having that other opinion of another healthcare provider helped me advocate for myself in the ER that night, and so I really wanted to be able to show both sides of that, and I hope patients take away from it [the importance of] trusting your gut and knowing when you need to advocate and push more as well as I also tried to show in the book some of the ways that I noticed a shift in the communication, even when I had some really vulnerable moments and was very just honest with how scared I was in those moments. I felt a lot of empathy on the other side from healthcare providers and noticed that sometimes there was a shift in dynamic when I kind of let down some of those walls.

So yeah, I just wanted to show the progression of how that happened, from somebody who spent a year and a half in the system pretty lost, to eventually having to navigate a rare diagnosis through the system. And I hope patients learn the importance of advocating for yourself and speaking up when you feel like things may not be right.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.