There are approximately 70,000 people aged 15-39 diagnosed with cancer every year. For over two decades there has been little or no improvement in survival for this age group. By signing this bill, you are supporting the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Bill of Rights to be established as a standard for care to meet the needs of this underserved population.
Why is SeventyK important?
The goal of the SeventyK campaign is to raise awareness to the lack of rights that these patients have in the organized medical world. There is a Patients' Bill of Rights in every hospital that is given to all patients when they are admitted. However, when you review the Bill of Rights of most institutions in the country, you will find that the Bill of Rights does not reflect the needs of this AYA patient population specifically.
We do know from research that has been done and published by Dr. Archie Bleyer and other professionals, as well as through work done at our own university and children's hospital, that this group of patients do not get the type of care that they should get in terms of access to experienced and educated practitioners in the field of adolescent and young adult cancer. They do not get access to clinical trials when there is a paucity of clinical trials available. There are very few biobank opportunities to store material in order for research to be done to try and understand the etiology of their cancer. There is very little work done involving the epidemiology or the study of the cause of their cancer. We also know that we have not paid attention to the fertility issues related to being a young adult cancer patient and survivor.
What are the goals of SeventyK, what do you hope to accomplish?
The SeventyK campaign allows people to review the Bill of Rights and then digitally sign in support. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of the plight of the AYA population. Our goal is to have the Bill of Rights implemented at all hospitals, so that in the future when a young patient is admitted, this Bill of Rights is the standard for any young adult cancer patient.
We also have a goal of taking this petition forward within the political process and within the realms of health policy. We are in an exciting political election year and I believe that our potential elected officials need to address the issues that this SeventyK AYA Bill of Rights brings forth. Finally, we hope that the SeventyK campaign is more than just a Bill of Rights but a platform to advocate for adolescent and young adult cancer issues.
Why SeventyK, what does it represent?
SeventyK represents approximately 70,000 children, adolescent and young adult patients in this country who are diagnosed with cancer every year. The adolescent and young adult patient population is also known as the AYA population. As you probably know, there are 1.4 million Americans who are diagnosed with cancer on a yearly basis. 70,000 represents the group of patients who are under the age of 40 and who we now know have poorer outcomes and are given much less attention.
Go to their website to sign the Bill!
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