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Haines ER, Lux L, Stein J, Swift C, Matson M, Childers J, Kleissler D, Mayer DK, Steiner N, Steiner L, Rosenstein D, Gold S, Smitherman AB. Developing a Comprehensive Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program: Lessons Learned from 7 Years of Growth and Progress. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol 2023; 12:868-878. [PMID: 37155196 PMCID: PMC10777816 DOI: 10.1089/jayao.2023.0015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Every year, nearly 100,000 adolescents and young adults (15-39 years, AYAs) are diagnosed with cancer in the United States and many have unmet physical, psychosocial, and practical needs during and after cancer treatment. In response to demands for improved cancer care delivery for this population, specialized AYA cancer programs have emerged across the country. However, cancer centers face multilevel barriers to developing and implementing AYA cancer programs and would benefit from more robust guidance on how to approach AYA program development. Methods: To contribute to this guidance, we describe the development of an AYA cancer program at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Results: We summarize the evolution of UNC's AYA Cancer Program since it was established in 2015, offering pragmatic strategies for developing, implementing, and sustaining AYA cancer programs. Conclusion: The development of the UNC AYA Cancer Program since 2015 has generated many lessons learned that we hope may be informative to other cancer centers seeking to build specialized services for AYAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R. Haines
- Department of Implementation Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lauren Lux
- UNC Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jacob Stein
- Division of Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Catherine Swift
- UNC Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Melissa Matson
- UNC Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Julie Childers
- UNC Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Daniel Kleissler
- Office of Clinical and Translational Research in Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Deborah K. Mayer
- School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Lucy Steiner
- Be Loud! Sophie Foundation, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Donald Rosenstein
- Comprehensive Cancer Support Program, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Stuart Gold
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Andrew B. Smitherman
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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