Dateline DFCI
Patient program reaches out to teens and younger adults
Karen Albritton, MD, (right) and patient Megan Grimes confer.
Facing cancer at any age is tough, but for those between 15 and 40, when independence often is a priority, it can be particularly challenging. The age group also falls between two traditional cancer treatment camps, one for older adults and the other for children. To help meet the needs of this population, Dana-Farber is establishing a program that blends research about the physical and psychosocial needs of these patients with clinical and support services.
"We know very little about the biology of cancer in 15- to 40-year-olds," says Karen Albritton, MD, a sarcoma expert and director of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology at Dana-Farber. "We hope our program will allow scientists to study how cancer behaves in this age group. We also want to increase this population's access to developmentally appropriate support services, information, and staff."
In working with Brigham and Women's Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston, this program without walls reflects the Institute's strategic goal of encouraging collaboration among scientists, clinicians, patients, and families — both within and outside Dana-Farber.
And it aims to fill a major gap, notes Institute Chief of Staff Stephen E. Sallan, MD. "In terms of our approach to disease, the historic boundary between pediatric and adult care at 18 doesn't make sense," he says. "There are virtually no diseases that begin and end at 18."
