Charron Walker was just 32 years old when she found a lump in her breast that was later diagnosed as Stage 1 breast cancer. Sadly, Charron’s mother, Mary, had died from the disease at the age of 34, and Charron had to endure the emotional turmoil and physical effects of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormonal therapy without her love and support.

At the time of her diagnosis and treatment Charron was living in Jacksonville, Fla., and had just finished graduate school. She was looking forward to a career in human resource development when her plans were derailed because of the impact the disease had on her life.

Charron sought guidance to help her understand what was happening to her body. “I was in a support group and was the youngest one there; all the other women were older,” she remembers. “[Younger women with breast cancer] have different issues—we have more aggressive cancers, we haven’t started families yet, and that wasn’t being addressed. [Having cancer] was a bad situation but it could have been worse if I didn’t have these people around me. I was trying to get it together in Jacksonville. I just wanted a connection [with someone my own age].”

Charron moved back to Massapequa in 2005, when she was in remission, to be closer to her family. “People kept asking, ‘Why don’t you start a [breast cancer] support group for younger women?’” she says.

Charron knew there was a need to help local young women so she founded the non-profit Young Survivor Network, Inc. (YSN) in 2006.

YSN’s mission is to educate, support and advocate for younger women to get through a very rough time in their lives. “The things I didn’t have, I want to have for other women,” Charron says. “My dream is to have a full-service wellness center. [When you have breast cancer] you have no hair, you have scars and you have to deal with what is on the inside.” YSN provides information and referrals to local agencies and educates young women in the prevention and early detection of breast cancer. YSN holds support groups the second Tuesday of every month at the Praise Tabernacle church in Massapequa. “The group is not faith based, but it’s something that I believe in,” Charron explains.

Breast cancer brings its own unique challenges to this age group. “You look at life and your relationships differently. Dating is different. The person has to understand what you’re going through and have been through. You’ve grown and changed and a lot of people don’t want to accept that,” Charron says. “It’s the inward scars that people don’t see. I have been in remission for nine years and I still deal with side effects of the medicine [I was taking].”
Charron continues to counsel young women in Jacksonville, saying, “We help women all over. I don’t turn anyone away… It might be a phone call or an e-mail. Any young women [who need information], I want to be able to reach.”
Helping others has now become Charron’s No. 1 priority and she is dedicating herself to YSN full-time to grow the organization to give support to as many people as possible.

“I have been through a lot to do this,” she says. “Every day is a faith walk for me. God spared me for a reason, and this is my purpose.”

For more information go to www.youngsurvivorsnetwork.org or call Charron at 516-353-4561.

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