On this steamy summer day in July, Alyssa Kahane appears carefree and relaxed sipping an iced passion tea at a midtown Starbucks.

In many ways, Kahane, 19, typifies the profile of the serious, high-achieving student with dreams of attending medical school.

She’s completed two years in biomedical science at the University of Guelph, and she’s quick to share her enthusiasm about her summer research internship at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Kahane has the grades and the drive to succeed, but she is facing a hurdle that few people her age have to contend with. She is being treated for thyroid cancer.

One of the first things she did following her diagnosis this spring was to start raising money for a program at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) that focuses on helping younger adults with cancer.

So far, her campaign, which also allocates some of the funds to cancer drug development, has brought in more than $15,000.

Kahane said when she found out she had thyroid cancer, she realized that she was luckier than many other young oncology patients, because hers is a treatable cancer with a good prognosis.

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Nevertheless, she was anxious about the impact of the treatment on her own fertility. “This was more concerning to me than the diagnosis. I was worried that I would not be able to have kids.

“That would have been a big consequence of the treatment and surgery.”

This stress was what prompted her to start the fundraising campaign. She wanted to raise awareness of the fact that cancer treatment can affect the fertility of younger oncology patients, she said.

“I got the idea to raise money myself and donate it to a fertility clinic for young cancer patients. Then I realized that it would be better to work with an organization that issues tax receipts.

“Within a few of days of my diagnosis, I had a [fundraising] web page at PMH going.”

The money will go to the drug development program for the treatment of all cancers and to the adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology program at PMH. AYA deals with non-medical issues related to the cancer treatment for adolescents and adults under the age of 39.

Kahane pointed out that there are many distressing situations that younger oncology patients may face because of body image problems brought on by the loss of hair, amputations and scars, and emotional problems including social isolation and infertility.

For example, she said, raising money to help people with fertility issues is important, because harvesting and freezing eggs is expensive and not funded by the government.

“I wanted to help those young adults with cancer who wanted to have families.”

READ: A TRAVELLER IN THE LAND OF CANCER

She said some people advised her to freeze her eggs, but a fertility specialist told her that the radioactive iodine treatment she has yet to undergo will not affect her fertility in the long term.

Kahane recounted how her cancer was accidentally discovered when she went to see her doctor about a sore jaw. The ultrasound she took just before her final exams showed a nodule on her thyroid.

The nodule was biopsied as a precautionary measure, Kahane said. “When I was told I needed to come in, I wasn’t scared. I did a lot of research. I knew if it was thyroid cancer, it’s the best type of cancer to have… I am fortunate that my cancer was treatable… It’s not a death sentence like a lot of other cancers.”

Kahane said she is grateful for the excellent care she received at Mt. Sinai Hospital. She had surgery there to remove her thyroid at the end of May.

She said her endocrinologist, Dr. Samantha Sandler has not minimized the illness, but “she assured me that I would be OK. She kept her cool and that helped me keep my cool.”