Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer

Survivors of cancer diagnosed during adolescence or early adulthood appeared at greater risk for mortality and severe chronic health conditions compared with the general population, according to results of a retrospective study published in The Lancet Oncology.

Young adults with colorectal cancer who resided in areas with the lowest incomes and high school graduation rates had a 24% increased risk for death than their counterparts in areas with the highest incomes and graduation rates, according to study results scheduled for presentation at Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

A cancer diagnosis in young adulthood can be challenging not only in the complicated emotions it engenders, but also in the logistical obstacles it presents for patients in the prime of their lives.

It was at the height of Australia’s marriage equality debate in 2017 when Kate Thompson, MSW, approached her colleague — social worker Mairghread Clarke, BSW — with some issues that had been raised by younger patients at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.