Young Adult Oncology Units

And the previous post leads onto ...

Putting a young adult with cancer into a bed next to a 70-year old or a 2-year old (Kezia) just ain't going to work. Psychologically it is just not a happy mix. Not for any of them. The only thing any of them has got in common is cancer.

There have been studies that putting young adults onto a pediatric treatment regime (and hence pediatric ward) will improve their prognosis. The decision to put you on the UKALL 2003 trial protocol agewise is pretty arbitrary - if you are diagnosed before you're 16th birthday (15 + 364 days), then you are eligible. But I suppose there has to be a cut-off somewhere.

The Teenage Cancer Trust has financed seven oncology treatment units for young adults and aims to finance fifteen more. In Manchester only Christies Hospital has one. Read about them here. And watch a video.

Unfortunately, for Lucia and H. the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital doesn't have one and even at the new children's hospital there are no plans for one. Which seems a bit absurd to me if young adults are going to be referred there.