Emerging Trends in AYA Cancer Care: The Flat Line

by Kate Yglesias Houghton, President & CEO, Critical Mass

Five years ago, the National Cancer Policy Forum convened a group to begin discussions about the gaps in care specific to adolescents and young adults. This groundbreaking report provided a comprehensive breakdown of the unique needs specific to this population and made recommendations to better care for and serve patients diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39.

But maybe more importantly, it brought together a truly diverse coalition of stakeholders — patients, providers, researchers, and advocates. If you look through that report today (found here), you won’t be surprised by the names you find because they are now all accomplished researchers, AYA medical directors, or running patient advocacy organizations throughout the country.

As we close out the 2018 AYA Cancer Awareness Week, I hope you are filled with hope, pride, and thoughts for the future. Now is the time to come together as a community and ask ourselves: What do we want to accomplish during the next five years?

For me, I want to get rid of the flat line that has plagued our community for far too long.

It is unacceptable that in the United States, adolescent and young adult survival rates have seen little to no improvement for more than four decades compared to pediatric and older adult patients with the same diagnosis.

There is not one contributing factor. Adolescents and young adults fall victim to all the flaws in our cancer care system from lack of quality coverage to diagnosis delays to a lack of enrollment in clinical trials.

This year we’ve seen the power of young people standing up for their rights, their lives, and their futures. This is our moment. I hope you will join us as a member of the Alliance.

This piece is part of the 2018 Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week education series. You can download the Young Adult Cancer Advocacy in Action Toolkit here: https://goo.gl/56rJvk