Good therapies for young adults with cancer

New foundation for better care of young adults with cancer

19/11/2014

When young people develop cancer, they suffer from the consequences of treatment for a particularly long time. Because cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 39 are often still in education, may want to have children soon and have usually dealt little with death. The illness tears her from her life and turns her life planning completely upside down. The German foundation for young adults with cancer wants to specifically support young patients with special offers "tailored to this age group". Because often there is "a way to fulfill the desire for children and gain a foothold in the workplace, despite illness".

Desire to conceive of young adults is often achievable despite cancer
About three percent of all newly diagnosed cancers affect young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 years. This rarity means that those affected are often not sufficiently advised in their particular concerns, because they are in a completely different life situation than older patients. „In young adults, the diagnosis 'cancer' comes at a time when thoughts of illness, dying and death usually have no place“, explains Karolin Behringer from the Oncological Outpatient Department of the University Hospital Cologne and head of the working group „survivorship“ in the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG).

The long-term toxicity of intensive therapies is a very big problem for people who have received cancer therapy as young patients. „Young people with cancer are 'long-term survivors', and they are the least exposed to the negative effects of anti-tumor therapies, as well as children with cancer“, explains Professor Volker Diehl, founder of the German Hodgkin Study Group and member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. In particular, the consequences for sexuality and the desire to have children are often dramatic. However, there are ways to preserve fertility, provided appropriate measures are taken in good time. „We have a number of ways to preserve fertility, such as cryopreservation, which is the freezing of eggs. Corresponding information should be an essential part of the doctor-patient conversation. Only then can fertility-preserving measures be initiated at an early stage“, reports Behringer.

Stiftung wants to support young adults with cancer through age group-specific offers
The foundation wants to create a tailor-made offer for the young patients, such as internet chats, in which they can exchange views with other stakeholders. Programs that help return to work and prevent poverty could be of great help to the young patients.

„In order to really do justice to the patients, we need a network of special 'competent contact points' in Germany, in which pediatric oncologists and adult oncologists, but also other professional groups such as psychologists or social workers cooperate closely with each other“, explains Diehl. These centers could also be used by general practitioners, who are often sought after by patients after a long-standing successful cancer treatment because of the long-term consequences. „This requires intensive training of general practitioners by the tumor centers and professional societies“, emphasizes the expert.