This is the first comprehensive book devoted exclusively to cancer in adolescents and young adults. It compiles medical, epidemiological, biological, psychological, and emotional issues of young adults’ oncology. The emphasis is on the differences of the "same" cancer in younger and older patients. Model programs specially designed to care for patients in the age group and surveillance of long-term adverse effects are reviewed.
Identifying and Addressing the Needs of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer is the summary of a workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Forum in July 2013 to facilitate discussion about gaps and challenges in caring for adolescent and young adult cancer patients and potential strategies and actions to improve the quality of their care. The workshop featured invited presentations from clinicians and other advocates working to improve the care and outcomes for the adolescent and young adult population with cancer. Cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death in adolescents and young adults. Each year nearly 70,000 people between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer, approximately 8 times more than children under age 15. This population faces a variety of unique short- and long-term health and psychosocial issues, such as difficulty reentering school, the workforce, or the dating scene; problems with infertility; cardiac, pulmonary, or other treatment repercussions; and secondary malignancies. Survivors are also at increased risk for psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and suicide and may have difficulty acquiring health insurance and paying for needed care. Identifying and Addressing the Needs of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer discusses a variety of topics important to adolescent and young adult patients with cancer, including the ways in which cancers affecting this group differ from cancers in other age groups and what that implies about the best treatments for these cancer patients. This report identifies gaps and challenges in providing optimal care to adolescent and young adult patients with cancer and to discuss potential strategies and actions to address them.
Since the late 1960s, the survival rate in children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer has steadily improved, with a corresponding decline in the cancer-specific death rate. Although the improvements in survival are encouraging, they have come at the cost of acute, chronic, and late adverse effects precipitated by the toxicities associated with the individual or combined use of different types of treatment (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy). In some cases, the impairments resulting from cancer and its treatment are severe enough to qualify a child for U.S. Social Security Administration disability benefits. At the request of Social Security Administration, Childhood Cancer and Functional Impacts Across the Care Continuum provides current information and findings and conclusions regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of selected childhood cancers, including different types of malignant solid tumors, and the effect of those cancers on childrenâ (TM)s health and functional capacity, including the relative levels of functional limitation typically associated with the cancers and their treatment. This report also provides a summary of selected treatments currently being studied in clinical trials and identifies any limitations on the availability of these treatments, such as whether treatments are available only in certain geographic areas.
Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults is a practical guide to cancer care in adolescents and young adults. It considers the impact of diagnosis on individuals, and their families, as well as examining the impact on the health professionals responsible for their care. There are sections focussing on the adolescent’s experience of cancer and ongoing care needs during treatment, and on life after cancer, including rehabilitation and palliative care. • Builds on the forthcoming NICE guidelines on Supportive Cancer Care for Children & Young People, and recent Department of Health guidelines & policy initiatives • Adopts an integrated inter-professional approach • Contains evidence-based contributions from leading professionals in cancer care Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults is an essential resource for all those involved with the provision of care and support for adolescents and young adults with cancer. About the Editors: Dr Daniel Kelly is Reader in Cancer & Palliative Care, Middlesex University, London. Dr Faith Gibson is Senior Lecturer in Children’s Nursing Research, Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital and King’s College London.
This book discusses the most important practical aspects involved in providing multidisciplinary Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) services for cancer patients. It draws on international experience in several continents of establishing and running such services and provides a contemporary, practical approach to AYA care based on accumulated experience. It is of interest to those establishing or seeking to improve AYA services as well as those already caring for AYA cance patients. Among topics discussed are incidence trends and treatment pathways, access to clinical trials for adolescents, transition from pediatric to adult services, psychological support and social care as well as survivorship and fertility. This book is of value of those establishing new services, those developing an existing service and those whose work includes the care of AYA patients. It is an important companion for pediatricians, oncologists as well as other medical, nursing and allied health professionals caring for Adolescents and Yound Adults with cancer.
What do young adults with cancer need to live full and fulfilling lives? That is the question the latest book from Anne Katz sets out to answer. More than one million people living now were diagnosed with cancer as young adults and, with a five-year survival rate reaching more than 80%, that number is likely to grow in the coming years. This Should Not Be Happening: Young Adults With Cancer tries to make sense of a situation that for many young people doesn't make any sense at all. Written for a younger audience, this new book tackles tough issues head-on and in language young people will understand. From dealing with medical professionals to handling going back to work and school, This Should Not Be Happening offers information and insight on a broad range of issues affecting young people with cancer. Share this book with any of your young adult patients with cancer or refer this book to anyone who is working with a young adult patient population or has a young adult with cancer in their lives.
Young adulthood - ages approximately 18 to 26 - is a critical period of development with long-lasting implications for a person's economic security, health and well-being. Young adults are key contributors to the nation's workforce and military services and, since many are parents, to the healthy development of the next generation. Although 'millennials' have received attention in the popular media in recent years, young adults are too rarely treated as a distinct population in policy, programs, and research. Instead, they are often grouped with adolescents or, more often, with all adults. Currently, the nation is experiencing economic restructuring, widening inequality, a rapidly rising ratio of older adults, and an increasingly diverse population. The possible transformative effects of these features make focus on young adults especially important. A systematic approach to understanding and responding to the unique circumstances and needs of today's young adults can help to pave the way to a more productive and equitable tomorrow for young adults in particular and our society at large. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults describes what is meant by the term young adulthood, who young adults are, what they are doing, and what they need. This study recommends actions that nonprofit programs and federal, state, and local agencies can take to help young adults make a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. According to this report, young adults should be considered as a separate group from adolescents and older adults. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults makes the case that increased efforts to improve high school and college graduate rates and education and workforce development systems that are more closely tied to high-demand economic sectors will help this age group achieve greater opportunity and success. The report also discusses the health status of young adults and makes recommendations to develop evidence-based practices for young adults for medical and behavioral health, including preventions. What happens during the young adult years has profound implications for the rest of the life course, and the stability and progress of society at large depends on how any cohort of young adults fares as a whole. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults will provide a roadmap to improving outcomes for this age group as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.
The field of adolescents and young adult (AYA) oncology is experiencing a very challenging time. This book is a guide to the key issues for any clinician and health professional managing AYA with cancer in Europe. Emphasis is on collaboration between adult and pediatric specialists. Authors present their perception of the current state of the most prominent primary issues in AYA oncology. Chapters cover cross-cutting issues such as disease epidemiology, systems of care, access to innovative therapy and late effects of treatment and survivorship for AYA-onset cancers. There are discussions of the latest developments and the most important cancer types for AYA, including the shared perspectives of adult and pediatric specialists. Throughout the book recurrent challenges to the AYA community are exposed and solutions proposed. Tumors in Adolescents and Young Adults is highly recommended to any oncologist or haematologist treating patients aged 15 to 39 diagnosed with cancer. It will also be of interest to other members of the multidisciplinary teams involved with this patient group.
This textbook walks clinicians through the psychosocial issues and challenges faced by children and adolescents with cancer and their families. Through a developmental lens, the text provides guidance and resources that will enable clinicians to understand the physical and emotional impact of the disease from diagnosis onwards, to work with families in distress, and to diagnose and treat a range of behavioral, psychological, and psychiatric issues. The book also addresses the burgeoning fields of social media, complementary therapies, palliative care, and survivorship. Among the variety of useful resources supplied are assessment tools, websites, and additional reading materials. The psychosocial issues that arise for children and their families during the course of treatment are an important yet often overlooked aspect of pediatric oncology care. The reader will find that Pediatric Psychosocial Oncology: Textbook for Multidisciplinary Care covers these issues at the forefront of clinical care in a direct and approachable way, integrating research literature with practical clinical guidance.
Outlining the unique psychosocial and development issues faced by young adults affected by cancer, this text draws on qualitative data from two pilot studies conducted in the United States to illustrate how the needs of this often-overlooked population can be effectively met via group therapy in clinical settings. Drawing on 25 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker supporting pediatric and young adult cancer patients and their families, Kurker focuses on the role of the clinician in structuring support group sessions. Chapters draw on patient perspectives to demonstrate effective application of interventions to help adolescents work through trauma associated with a diagnosis of cancer, treatment, recovery and the impacts on their development. Outcomes from these studies also include strategies for selecting support group participants, structuring group activities and securing funding. Effective Group Therapies for Young Adults Affected by Cancer will be a valuable text for oncology social workers and clinicians involved in adolescent support services. In addition, researchers and postgraduate students with an interest in the fields of social work, psychology and adolescent development will find the book of interest.
