TAMPA, Fla. — Getting a diagnosis at any age is incredibly tough, but for those between the age of 15 and 39, cancer is also often the furthest thing from the mind. 

Joel Santos said that is exactly how he felt in 2017. His mind was focused on his future wife and his career as a teacher, not even thinking something like cancer would be on his horizon. 

But five years ago he got a strong cough that wouldn't go away. After an X-ray, he got the tough news. 

“They find that I had a big tumor in my chest," said Santos. "They said it was heart sized, it was right between my lungs. And then they had one on my neck too, and I think the neck one was the one causing the cough. They said it was pushing on the airway and all that.”

He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and began treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center.

"I didn’t know anybody who ever had cancer beforehand," admits Santos. That fact added to the difficulty of the disease, or at least it did, until he found Moffitt's Adolescent & Young Adult Program (AYA), which connects cancer patients who are between the ages of 15 to 39.

"Now I know a ton through the groups and all that," said Santos. 

“We are trying to bring them together so that they know you are not alone in this process, and we are here to support you," said Amber Skinner, AYA Program Administrator with Moffitt Cancer Center.

There is a room inside Moffitt for them to go to while in the hospital. 

"You will notice there is no red coloring in this room, as it reminds them of some of the chemotherapy treatments," said Skinner as she gave a tour of the room. 

Cancer in that age range (15 to 39) is not rare. In fact, Moffitt sees about 1800 new appointments each year. 

“It made a massive difference in my life," said Santos. 

He remembers one time while he was doing chemo, he had hit a point where he was so depressed he didn't want to continue with treatment. He says it was AYA that helped him. 

“So it just encouraged me. Like, it was a game changer. Like the next day when it came time to do chemo, I thought of John, and I was like I can do this, man," said Santos. 

The group connects at monthly networking events, too. It is a chance to share the realities of cancer with one another. 

"Sometimes we want to talk to people close to us, because they are our go to, but sometimes I didn’t want to talk to my mom, or my wife, or my kids, about the possibility of me dying. Or like, some of these tough things that you really gotta go through," said Santos. "So some of those, those were the best conversations for the group, that you kinda have a safe place to get out all the tough stuff.”

AYA has been a program at Moffitt for the past seven years.