The adolescent and young adult cancer movement has helped define patients by age rather than disease and raise awareness of the population’s unique needs, Dr. Leonard Sender, medical director of the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC, tells “The Huffington Post.”
Dr. Sender’s and CHOC’s leadership role in the adolescent and young adult cancer movement were prominently featured recently on the popular online news site that covers a range of topics such as health care, technology, business, politics and entertainment.
The three-part series was centered on the recent Society of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (SAYAO) conference held in partnership with CHOC’s Cancer Institute.
The first piece featured an interview with Dr. Sender who is also the director of the Cancer Institute’s adolescent and young adult program and developed SAYAO. Dr. Sender discussed the movement’s achievements, its ongoing priorities and goals, as well as its future.
“I believe the movement as a whole is going to help define four big age groups of people getting cancers, and that we are going to start addressing cancer in terms of what it means for those age groups,” he said. “So, what does it mean for a geriatric patient who is different from an adult who is different from an AYA who is different from a pediatric patient?”
The series’ second installment, “Advances in the Young Adult Cancer Movement: Why SAYAO Is a Big Deal,” discussed the origins of SAYAO and its efforts to create an academic space for medical professionals to discuss and educate one another on the specific topics relevant to this patient population.
The article also provided an overview of the two-day conference held in October.
The series’ third piece, “New Innovation in the AYA Cancer Movement: The Future is Here,” detailed new technology discussed at the conference that could factor in future treatment of adolescents and young adults with cancer.
For example, My Bridge 4 Life, an organization whose products use technology to help people improve healthcare management, developed the Infusionarium at CHOC’s Cancer Institute. The Infusionarium, which ran as a pilot in 2013, incorporated sensory elements and media to help combat the isolation, boredom and stress often felt by patients during cancer treatment.
Also, My Bridge 4 Life and SeventyK announced a new video survival guide and eBook for adolescents and young adults with cancer.
CHOC Hospital was named one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in its 2024-25 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings and ranked in the cancer specialty.
