The face of colorectal cancer is changing. Today, incidence rates of colon and rectal cancer are increasing among adults under 50. The Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber is addressing the unique challenges facing this younger age group. According to a 2026 study from the American Cancer Society, incidence is rising among young adults by 3% in people ages 20 to 49 even though incidence overall has … Read more
Adults and young adults often have to face unique challenges while they are also facing cancer. Here’s what you need to know.
Young adults faced with a cancer diagnosis are in a particularly unique position.
Survival rates associated with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma have risen for patients of all ages in recent years, but this increase has been relatively smaller in adolescents and young adults – those aged 15-40 – than in children and older adults. There are likely to be multiple reasons for this, … Read more
Being a young adult with cancer comes with its own unique circumstances – and Lauren Leonard is no stranger to those hurdles. Diagnosed with stage IV primary bone diffuse large b-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 22, and now in remission, Leonard has faced challenges in all parts of her life as a result of her diagnosis as … Read more
Sitting recently in Dana-Farber’s Healing Garden, Kireina Bell Sancho focuses on her task. She slowly works navy blue yarn through her needles, drawing the yarn back and forth to form the base of a headband – a gift for her sister. She says the repetitive motion, which requires both attention and precision, has been stress-relieving during … Read more
When Lauren Leonard bounces across the stage, she is in perfect harmony with the rhythm of the music. Amongst a group of other dancers, she stands out, moving with tangible energy. Dancing has been an important part of Leonard’s life since childhood. She started taking ballet lessons when she was 5, and as a teenager … Read more
Christina Crespi experienced extreme fatigue, weakness, and bowel changes for two years before doctors determined the cause of her symptoms: colon cancer. At 27, after many doctors’ visits, she was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer. She found the diagnosis “mind-blowing.” For Kara Stoughton, it was constipation that brought her to the doctor. She was … Read more
When Erin’s phone rang the night before her first visit to Dana-Farber’s Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers, she was surprised to hear the voice of the oncologist she would see the next day: Ann Partridge, MD, MPH. “She called to tell me it was going to be okay,” says Erin, who was 36 … Read more
Imagine your life ahead of you. You may have seemingly endless possibilities, a carefree attitude, and a sense of immortality that often comes with youth. Then imagine being hit with the unthinkable: a cancer diagnosis. This is the reality approximately 70,000 young adults in the United States face each year. They transform from “normal” 20- … Read more
By Tara Baysol I was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2013 at the age of 27. Just prior to my diagnosis, I had started a new, exciting chapter as a Yale graduate student. My self-confidence was at an all-time high as I had survived my chaotic early 20s and was beginning to really figure things … Read more
Five hundred miles from her hometown in northern Virginia, newlywed Jeannie Choi, 30, and her husband were settling into to Massachusetts and their new careers in July 2015. Just three months later, their wedding vows – to support each other in sickness and in health – would be put to the test with another transformative … Read more
Some people may think of breast cancer as a disease that only affects older women. But many young women can and do get breast cancer – just like Maggie Loucks, NP-C, who was diagnosed one week after her 28th birthday. “Hearing the words ‘the lump is malignant’ isn’t really anything you can prepare yourself to … Read more
Perhaps more than other age group, young adults may feel pressure to look a certain way or conform to a traditional standard of beauty. Add a cancer diagnosis, physical side effects, and damaging treatments, and a young adult’s body image and self-perception can take an even bigger hit. Many young adult patients, whose previous health … Read more
Treatment for cancer may cause changes in the way patients feel about their bodies and about sex. Some may feel disconnected from their bodies after chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and surgery, while others undergo major physical changes such as early menopause or erectile disfunction. “If sex is different than it used to be and it causes … Read more
By Steve Pierce I recently read the Insight blog post, From Pediatric to Young Adult Patient: The Importance of Advocating for Yourself, and I found it very enlightening. As I read about Jeremy’s experience dealing with cancer as a young adult, it occurred to me that his point of view has a flip-side: parenting a young adult … Read more
From understanding medical jargon to experiencing “scanxiety,” entering a cancer center for the first time can be overwhelming. For young adults starting to establish their independence, the experience can be especially intimidating. Having a care team you know and trust, and seeking psychosocial support in the form of counseling or support groups, can help many … Read more
By Jeremy Pivor I have been living with cancer for half my life: first as a 12-year-old boy, and now as a 24-year-old young adult. In the 12 years since I was diagnosed with a brain tumor, I have been cared for at Dana-Farber, where I am currently receiving treatment for an inoperable recurrence. Despite … Read more
American women have a 12 percent lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer, the second most common cancer in women, according to the American Cancer Society. While young women do get breast cancer, the disease is much more common in women aged 60 and older. Rachel Freedman, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist at the … Read more
By Heather Francis Some people worry when they get married that they won’t be able to handle the challenges of life as a couple. That won’t be a problem for my fiancé and me. Harry and I started dating in April 2011, when I was 24 and he was 25. Soon after, he started feeling … Read more