New report outlines how Europe can address needs of AYA cancer patients

June 26, 2024

New report outlines how Europe can address needs of AYA cancer patients

A new STRONG-AYA report highlights a series of lessons and recommendations to provide a brighter future for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Entitled ‘Caught in the Middle’, the report is the result of an extensive stakeholder forum.

‘Addressing the needs of cancer patients aged 15 to 39 years old is a pressing issue,’ said Winette van der Graaf, president of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer and head of medical oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

‘This demographic faces age-specific issues such as infertility, unemployment, and financial problems due to cancer and its treatment. This new report highlights the key areas where Europe must do better and will inform STRONG-AYA’s multi-stakeholder network, launched through our EU-funded project.’

The STRONG-AYA stakeholder forum in September of 2023, brought together 70 participants to discuss the project and provide feedback on its activities. Groups contributing to the forum included the European Network for Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer, and the EU Network of Youth Cancer Survivors.

One participant, a fifteen-year-old patient with leukemia, said: ‘Projects such as STRONG-AYA are important as it involves patients and survivors from an early stage, having a real impact in shaping the path forward. We are not mascots; we are not tokens: we are able to impact how the project is shaped from the outset.’

Read the full report.