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A study has shown that members of the adolescents and young adults group do not get the specialized care that is provided to children and adults. And, although the group‘s survival rates are increasing, they have not kept pace with improving survival rates in children and adults. “Cancer is different in young adults,” said Dr. Scott Sellick, clinical psychologist and director of the Regional Cancer Care Supportive Care program at Regional hospital. “The psychosocial challenges they face are unique and need to be met in unique ways,” Sellick said Wednesday. Sellick‘s program offers cancer patients a team of professionals to meet their psychosocial needs. The team includes counsellors, a clinical dietitian, a quit-smoking coach and a spiritual care chaplain. “Support services are enormously important for people facing cancer,” Sellick said. Sellick said young adults (aged 18 to 44 years) with cancer may have difficulty accessing support resources during normal work-day hours. School work, family and emotional or physical distress may impede their ability to attend one-on-one counselling. A new website, funded by donations to the Northern Cancer Fund of the Health Sciences Foundation, will also address young adults with cancer. The care2talk website, which was launched in February as a 10-week pilot project, aims to link young cancer patients with the services they need and with each other. “The online support provides users with access to supportive care professionals as well as a network of individuals sharing similar experiences,” said Sellick. “It‘s a progression and evolution of our program.” Of all young adults in the region aged 20-34, seven females and four males were diagnosed with cancer in 2009, say projected cancer incident reports compiled at Northwestern Ontario Regional Cancer Care. Across Canada, every year about 2,000 individuals between 15 and 29 are diagnosed with cancer, and about 320 die of the disease. Overall, the five-year survival rate for this age group is about 85 per cent. But while other age groups have benefitted from a steady improvement in the five-year survival rate of 1.5 per cent a year, adolescent and young adult patients have seen little or no change. Top of Page |
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September 2, 2010, 8:49 am |