Recent News and Updates in the Field of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer

There have been multiple updates in the field of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer over the past several months. In honor of AYA Cancer Awareness Week, happening from April 5-11, 2021, CURE® compiled the top stories from this field that patients, survivors and caregivers may have missed.

• The dependent coverage provision in the Affordable Care Act has helped AYA patients with cancer stay on health insurance longer than those who had cancer before the ACA was signed into law.
• Survivors of adolescent or young adult cancer experience a 20% higher risk of a psychotic episode and a 30% higher chance of an outpatient mental health visit compared to individuals with no history of cancer.
• In this episode of the “CURE® Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with lymphoma survivor Nina Luker about what it was like to receive a diagnosis at age 24, and how sharing her story with nearly 200,000 supporters on TikTok and Instagram led her to find purpose with the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
• How should fertility preservation be addressed in patients who may not be thinking about having children yet? We talk with patients who were faced with these questions after receiving cancer diagnoses in their 20’s in the cover story of our recent Women’s Cancers Special Issue.
• The term “survivor” is often used to describe people who have successfully completed their cancer treatments, but Sonia Su, who was first diagnosed with lymphoma at age 24, feels like it doesn’t quite capture the complexity of what it means to be in remission.

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