A team of CHOC staff members will offer two poster presentations at an upcoming international meeting of health care professionals who work with adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer.
The team involved in CHOC’s AYA Treatment Program will provide insight at the second annual Global Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Congress into two topics: building the ideal AYA program and implementing an AYA retreat and education curriculum.
Designing, implementing a program
The first poster presentation, “Building the Ideal Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program Model to Empower AYA Cancer Patients to Succeed, Lead and Thrive,” is authored by Sharon Bergeron, RN, BSN, CPON; Kara Noskoff, BS, CCLS; and Nadia Torres-Eaton, PsyD.
The presentation details CHOC’s efforts to establish a community where AYA patients with cancer can find support and assistance in developing leadership, life and survivorship skills. The program is designed to meet the psychosocial needs of a unique patient population.
Among other features, the program includes monthly empowerment activities, an inpatient fitness program and a leadership team. As a result, CHOC found a decrease in social isolation commonly reported by these patients, as well as a confidence boost and increased passion to embrace their experiences and advocate for their peers.
Investing in emerging AYA leaders
Also authored by Bergeron, Noskoff and Dr. Torres-Eaton, as well as Matthew Cawthon, RN, BSN; Danielle Mucker, RN, BSN; Karlie Allen, MS, CCLS; and Eric Mammen, MT-BC, the second poster presentation is “Implementing an Adolescent and Young Adult Mentor Retreat and Education Curriculum: Wise Investment for Emerging AYA Patient Leaders.”
Building upon efforts described in the first poster, the second presentation will detail how the AYA program cultivated emerging leaders among the patient participants by designing and implementing a weekend mentor retreat. During the event, participants learned mentorship skills, as well as specific knowledge about AYA cancer diseases.
As feedback, retreat attendees said the event was empowering and provided them with the essential knowledge to grow as leaders. They also noted increased confidence in meeting new patients with differing experiences and diagnoses.
Themed “Working Together-Achieving More,” the Global Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Congress will be held Dec. 5 through 7 in Atlanta.
Learn more about CHOC AYA Treatment Program.
