Missed: Stories of Young Adults with Cancer

Cancer in adolescents and young adults (AYA) between the ages of 15-39 is a significant problem. Approximately 68,000 people in this age group were diagnosed with cancer in 2002; 8 times more cases than in children under age 15. Additionally, while survival rates have increased for those younger and older, survival rates for young adults have not increased since 1975, possibly due to factors such as lack of insurance, less participation in clinical trials and delayed diagnoses. Young survivors often are caught between the worlds of pediatric and adult oncology. They may face a variety of long-term effects that will need to be addressed over their lifetimes, such as: reentry into school or the workforce, insurance coverage issues, infertility as a result of treatment, neurocognitive effects or secondary malignancies. LIVESTRONG is working to address the needs of AYA cancer survivors and their families by developing and implementing comprehensive outreach and educational resources that would raise awareness of cancer and increase cancer survivors' access to and utilization of culturally appropriate resources. MISSED: Stories of Young Adults with Cancer is a short documentary film that tells the stories of four young adult cancer survivors. This film illustrates the unique challenges faced by this group across the cancer continuum; including low clinical suspicion and feelings of invincibility contributing to delays at diagnosis and psychosocial issues during and following treatment. MISSED is being used to raise awareness and to give a voice to this population; as well as serving as an educational tool for the general public, other young adults, parents, school professionals and the healthcare providers who work to serve this age group.