Nearly 70,000 young adults in their 20s and 30s are diagnosed with cancer each year

• Cancer is the leading disease killer among 20 to 39 year olds
• Young adults with cancer have had less survival improvement than either younger or older patients
• Strides made in cancer treatment have bypassed young adults
• Young adults also have the lowest participation rate in clinical trials of any age group
• Young adults face unique psychosocial concerns such as fertility, body image, sexuality, cognitive function, long-term effects, education, insurance and employmen

Vital Options® International first launched National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week®, in 2003 to commemorate its 20th anniversary. The organization pioneered the young adult cancer movement when it was founded in 1983 by Selma Schimmel, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28. Vital Options was the first organization in the United States to focus specifically on the unique clinical and psychosocial needs of young adults with all types of cancer between the ages of 17 through the mid-40's. For more information on Vital Options and National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week, please visit www.vitaloptions.org or www.youngadultswithcancer.org

2008 marks the sixth year of bringing together organizations and clinical institutions throughout North America to partner on behalf of raising awareness about young adults with cancer.

Vital Options International is a charter member of the LIVESTRONG™ Young Adult Alliance. Bringing together for the first time key voices in the cancer community to effect positive results for young adults, the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance is a coalition of organizations with the goal to improve the survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40. The Alliance is committed to promoting research and the investigation of the problem, serving as a voice for the issue and promoting effective solutions. For more information, visit www.livestrong.org/yaa

LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance

Each year, nearly 65,000 young adults between the ages of 15 and 40 are diagnosed with cancer. 

In contrast to 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.

In addition, young survivors often are caught between the worlds of pediatric and adult oncology. They may face a variety of unique 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.

Bringing together for the first time key voices in the cancer community to effect positive results for young adults, the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance is a coalition of organizations with the goal to improve the survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40. The Alliance is committed to promoting research and the investigation of the problem, serving as a voice for the issue and promoting effective solutions.

We formed the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance with the knowledge that unity is strength - by working together we can raise awareness and effect positive change for young adults with cancer.

If you have questions or comments about the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance, please fill out the Young Adult Alliance Information Form.

If you are a young adult affected by cancer, please explore our support resources.