In a small auditorium at the Margaret Princess Cancer Center in Toronto, approximately half a dozen cancer patients sit down, obtaining advice on how to deal with hair loss during chemotherapy. It is not an unusual workshop for cancer patients, except that each patient in the room is under 40 years old.
It is part of a program at the Cancer Hospital, created for those who are diagnosed in their 20 and 30 years. Cancer in this age group was once considered an anomaly, but Recent Lancet research suggests That is changing in the US. Seventeen of the 34 most common cancers diagnosed between the ages of 25 to 84 are increasing among millennials, as well as the young gen-xers, and it is not exactly clear why.
Canada is also seeing a similar pattern, says Laura Burnett, who directs cancer support programs and services at Canadian Cancer Society. According to the latest data, published Last year, a little less than four percent of cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed in young adolescents and adults aged 15 to 39 in 2023, said the non -profit organization in an email.
For those between 15 and 29, the most common types included thyroid, testicular and colorectal cancers, as well as lymphoma and leukemia. For those between 30 and 49 years, breast cancers, thyroid and colorectal were among the most common.
“We have not published our 2024 numbers, but we hope to see similar patterns,” said Burnett.
Canadian hospitals, such as Princess Margaret, say that specialized programs to support younger cancer patients have also grown in demand.
“It used to see a young patient of about 20 or 30 years in the clinic and would be unusual,” said Dr. Shady Ashamalla, who operates in patients with colon and rectal cancer at the Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto.
“It began to happen more and more over time, and then enough to make a pause and said we need to formalize this because these patients have very different needs.”
Sunnybrook has had a colorectal cancer clinic for young adults for about five years, says Ashamalla.
‘Why now?’
In Princess Margaret, the program is open to patients with all types of cancers under 39. The adolescent program of young adults, or the AYA program, establishes one by one with health workers and patients, helping them through questions such as and how they could have a family in the future, and how to handle anxiety or depression or handle students’ debt while fighting cancer.
It is one of the largest hospital programs for young people in the country, which has been established in 2015.
“At that time, we saw perhaps 30 new people per month in our program. Now, that number has doubled,” said Dr. Abha Gupta, a Princess Margaret staff who created the program.
He also tries to connect patients with other young adults fighting cancer, through group activities such as yoga or art class.
That aspect of the program is a gift from heaven, says Kasia Tywonek, 25, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last year. After the initial diagnosis shock, he had entered the emergency room thinking that he was having an anxiety attack initially, before the doctors realized that he had cancer, he felt extremely isolated, he says. In all the time he was in the hospital, there was only another patient of his age.
“Many people had at least twice my age, if not my age three times,” he said. “Although everyone was very pleasant, it was really difficult to relate to where they were in their lives against me.”
In addition to isolation, says Tywonek, was the fact that his teammates were being forged forward, while recovering in bed.
“Only in the year I have been sick, they have committed, their doctorates have begun, they have graduated from the school, they will marry.”
She remembers asking: “‘Why now? Why at this stage of my life when it does not seem to be the norm?'”
The Princess Margaret program says, helped her feel less alone.
“He made me win a new perspective on whether they are, you know, a year ahead of me in treatment.”
‘The million dollar question’
Researchers are still trying to understand the precise reason why cancer rates seem to be uploading for young people.
“That is the million dollar question, and there are no definitive answers,” said Ashamalla, the colorectal cancer surgeon.
He says there are some ideas of the factors behind the increase, such as diet, sedentary lifestyles and stress, but needs more research.
Burnett, with the Canadian cancer society, says it is also closely monitoring the latest investigations.
“We know that modifiable risk factors such as alcohol and obesity, sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy diet do not completely explain the trends that we believe we can be seeing. Therefore, we are interested in understanding more about what this is causing.”
For his part, says Gupta, he would like to see the type of care offered in Princess Margaret that expands.
“My vision is that each young man, regardless of the postal code or in which cancer hospital they are being treated, should have access to this type of support.”
