Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2019

Engaging Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Patients: Challenges or Opportunities?  (#65)

Alexandre Chan 1
  1. National University of Singapore, Singapore, SG

The Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) population comprises of patients who are at major milestones of their lives with multiple familial and societal responsibilities and roles, and least expect themselves to be ill, much less burdened with cancer. In the literature, studies have highlighted numerous areas that have significant impact on AYA’s health-related quality of life, including symptom burden, issues of employment and education, sexual identity and social isolation from peers. The physical and psychosocial toxicities of disease and treatment are made more challenging by the significant changes and life events attendant to AYAs. Hence, there is a clear need for dedicated programs that are designed to address AYA cancer patients’ health concerns. At National Cancer Centre Singapore which is the largest ambulatory cancer center in Singapore, an orientation program that is designed to target AYA cancer patients has been initiated since 2017. In this talk, we will discuss the role that an oncology pharmacist plays in this program, as well as the challenges and opportunities that an oncology pharmacist faces from this program and what we can learn from engaging AYA cancer patients.