A cancer diagnosis for anyone is hard, but for a college student there is simply no way to prepare to hear those words. “I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer this last December 2025, and I was not fully prepared, I would say.”
Ashling Bowen says a co-worker working through her own cancer journey told her about Cancer Support Community.
Bowen is Cancer Support Community’s Ray’s of Hope Gala speaker this year. She recently sat down to talk with Chet Layman about her journey.
WATCH ASHLING'S STORY HERE:
Ashling says her involvement in Cancer Support Community has grown as she has explored more of the options available. “Everyone’s journey is so different, and when you’re going through the, like, real information-seeking phase and then you kind of move more in oh, maybe there’s some community benefit out of this, and there are ways to get really involved.”
Bowen says one of the best parts of Cancer Support Community is that this community already understands cancer and all that it involves.
“There’s something familiar about reaching out to someone who’s like, no, I get it. We’ve dealt with this before, and we know how this is likely going to impact you in different ways. I think all of that together creates this very deep sense of safety.”
A cancer diagnosis involves many factors. Medical needs, emotional needs, and family needs. Bowen says the people she’s met at Cancer Support Community have helped fill all of that, because many of them have been there themselves.
“Just being able to be around people that you don’t have to explain that to, that have their own version of it and can share what it was like for them, it's a very special, unique human experience and it brings a lot of warmth.”
Bowen originally sought help from Cancer Support Community to travel to treatment out of state. She says she’s stayed with CSC because it gives her peace in a world that sometimes lacks that feeling.
“Every day, every hour you’re facing pain and questions of why and what’s going to happen, and you’re watching it impact the people you love. There’s so much emotional impact of that to have a place that helps facilitate a feeling of belongingness, deservingness, and, you know, just being a part of something that wants to care for you and is going to care for you and you get to pour into, you get to pay it forward, that again is very powerful. I think it’s better than any medicine they can give you at the hospital.”
Bowen will share her story and journey during this year’s Cancer Support Community “Rays of Hope” Gala. This is a major fundraiser for CSC. She has attended several CSC events, including Mending in the Mountains Women’s Retreat.
YOU CAN WATCH ASHLING'S FULL CONVERSATION WITH CHET LAYMAN HERE:
