Betsy first began to feel pain in her hip and was dealing with some nausea, which she initially wrote off as a pulled muscle and GI issues, in 2016. But when the symptoms persisted, Betsy decided to see a doctor and was diagnosed with unclassified pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) in November 2016 at 30 years old.

As part of her treatment, Betsy has undergone radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery on her leg and lungs. She began her treatment at the end of 2016 with chemo and radiation. She then had two surgeries in 2017 but found recurrences in both her leg and lungs in December 2017. Betsy is now in chemotherapy with the goal of controlling her tumor growth.

Betsy is supported by her fiancé, who she will be marrying this weekend, her brother, sister, and her parents. While she is currently on a leave of absence as she treats her disease, Betsy is a project manager at the Center for Sustainable Energy.

Betsy loves to hike, kayak, or just be outside. She recently went on a kayaking trip with First Descents, a non-profit group that takes young adults with cancer on trips with patients and survivors. 

Betsy is extremely grateful for the treatment she has received from Dana-Farber and the relationships she has built with her nurses and doctors.

Kerry is a program nurse in the Department of Sarcoma at Dana-Farber. 

She has worked in many capacities at the Institute, starting her career at Dana-Farber as a new graduate. 

It was her work with the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and The Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology that increased her exposure to the number of young adults battling cancer.  

She found that she really enjoyed working with these patients and became interested in how to bring them together and provide a community in the oncologic world.  

She was excited when she learned about the inception of the Young Adult Program (YAP) at Dana-Farber and joined the team.

Initially, she worked to spread word about the program to young adult patients.  As her interest grew, so did the program, and she has become more involved through attending YAP events and collaborating with members of the YAP team. Kerry continues to bring her excitement and enthusiasm to the program and looks forward to being active in its continued growth.