Unit 11: Survivorship Issues of Adolescents and Younger Adults (AYA) with Cancer

This training is presented in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Nurse in Oncology (CANO) and is part of CANO’s manual Adult cancer survivorship: A self-Learning resource for nurses – 2020.

Description: The Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) group includes cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 39. Survivors in this age group have special medical and psychosocial needs. However, no clinical care guidelines specific to these patients have been defined. In this training, Marlie Smith, Interim Clinical Nurse Specialist at Princess Margaret Cancer Center will discuss the medical and psychosocial issues and the critical role of nurses in supporting AYA.

Learning Objectives :
1. Understand the unique needs of young adult cancer patients and their families.
2. Know the tools to identify problems specific to this group of young patients and find solutions.
3. Consider the developmental stages the young adult is going through to provide appropriate psychosocial education and support.
4. Assessing the psychosocial needs of AYAs.
5. Promote better access to the right services at the right time (e.g., fertility, sexual health, neuropsychology, or psychosocial support) to meet the unique needs of each AYA with cancer throughout the care process.
6. Referring AYA to services that specialize in supporting young adults when appropriate (e.g., counseling, community or peer support programs)
7. Understand the medical and psychosocial needs of young adult cancer survivors.