Young adults diagnosed with cancer have little choice but to navigate a treatment ecosystem built for children and seniors. From financial toxicity to symptom discounting, these patients are facing challenges at every stage of their cancer journey.
"Pediatric patients have their parents taking care of financial and legal decisions," said Sommer Bazuro, Chief Medical Officer, IPG Health. "Older adults have Medicare and established relationships with primary care physicians and at least some experience with the healthcare system. And then you have this in-between group that may fall through the cracks."
When it comes to combatting barriers to effective cancer care, top experts from IPG Health, Know Your Lemons Foundation, Fight Colorectal Cancer and TOUCH, The Black Breast Cancer Alliance, weigh in on key priorities. Streamlining the patient experience, combating online health misinformation, strengthening advocacy support and increasing awareness of formal programs offered by pharmaceutical companies will help pave the path forward.
