For young adults facing cancer

No one should face cancer on an island.

We walk beside young adults through treatment and the long road after, with a real person who shows up, listens, remembers, and stays. Free, national, and built around connection.

Where do you fit?

I have cancer Find support for yourself Someone I love does Support for family & friends I want to help Volunteer & get involved

Ages 18–30patients and survivors

During & aftertreatment and the years that follow

Always freeno cost to anyone we serve

Why we exist

Young adults with cancer fall through the cracks.

Too old for pediatric programs, too young for the rooms full of older patients, and surrounded by people who love them but cannot reach them. Parents struggle to cope. Friends do not know what to say. And most support that does exist is a group at a set time, organized around a diagnosis. We close the gap with something more personal: one steady person who knows your story, on your schedule, plus practical help when you need it.

85,000+young adults aged 15 to 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year in the US

~1 in 20new US cancer diagnoses are young adults, a group recognized as having distinct, often unmet needs

Ages 18–30the years we focus on, where support is thinnest

Nationalfree support wherever you live, mostly remote

Figures based on National Cancer Institute SEER data, available as of 2025.

How we help

Three ways we show up.

Different needs, same shape: one person at a time, built around you.

During treatment

A matched companion who checks in, listens, and helps you navigate doctors, school, and work while you are in the thick of it.

Family support Coming soon

Practical help and a steady hand for the people around you, including parents and siblings carrying the weight alongside you.

After treatment Waitlists open

The part most programs skip. Three programs for rediscovering yourself after treatment: your body, your work, your mind.

Inside After treatment: three programs, waitlists open now.

BodyStyle, movement, and nutrition. The glow up starts here. WorkCareer reentry, or a full pivot, after treatment MindCancer-informed therapists and care for the after

Companion matching is live today. Family support is growing as we do, and the after-treatment program waitlists are open now, so you can always reach out about any of the three.

Our approach

A person, not a program.

Most cancer support is a group at a set time. Good ones exist, and we gladly point people to them. What we add is the layer a group cannot: support shaped around one specific person. You.

1:1

Someone who knows your story

You never have to start from the beginning with a room of new faces. One consistent person carries the context, from the first conversation onward.

You

Your schedule, not a meeting time

A text before the scan you’re dreading. A call when the week gets heavy. Support happens when you need it, not on the second Wednesday of the month.

Alongside, never instead

Hospitals, therapists, and support groups do vital work, and we hope to partner with more of them over time. We fit around the care you already have and fill the space between.

In memory of

Katherine Paleno

My grandmother and my mother in every way that counts. We lost her to stomach cancer, and I have never met a more joyful or selfless person.

She screamed for me from the stands at every game. She was proudest of her children and grandchildren. She cooked like it was love made visible. Even at the end, she did her best to stay cheery and full of energy, because that was simply who she was.

This foundation carries her name so that her warmth reaches young people who need it most.

For Katherine.

Who we are

The people behind the Foundation.

Our mission is simple: no young adult should face cancer alone. We pair them with a real person who shows up: free, national, and there for as long as they need.

Frankie Paleno

Founder & survivor

Frankie started the Katherine Paleno Foundation after going through his own cancer diagnosis at 23. What stayed with him was not just the treatment. It was how hard it was to find anyone his age who understood, and how much it mattered when someone finally did.

He named the Foundation for his grandmother, Katherine, whose warmth he wants to carry to the young people who need it most. Right now, Frankie is personally involved in every person we support.

Our board is taking shape. As people join us in this work, you’ll meet them here.

A note from our founder

“I was diagnosed with cancer at 23, just before my 24th birthday. I know the particular loneliness of being young and sick, and how much one steady person can change. No young adult should go through this alone. That is why this exists.”

Frankie Paleno, Founder and survivor

Get involved

Whether you need a hand or want to be one.

Find support

If you are a young adult with cancer, or someone who loves one, reach out. We will match you with a person who gets it. Everything is free and confidential.

Reach out

Volunteer

Survivors who want to be that steady person for someone in treatment are the heart of this. A few hours a week at most. Other ways to help are always welcome too.

Get in touch