Israel joins recognition of Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIA PATIENT receives chemotherapy treatment (photo credit: REUTERS/ERIC GAILLARD)
Israel will recognize an awareness week for young cancer patients at the end of June as part of an initiative by the Stop Cancer Youth Organization. The goal of this awareness week is to place youth with cancer in a separate category and to address their needs and rights.Ten young people aged 18-44 are diagnosed with cancer every day. 13% of those diagnosed in Israel are young and approximately 70% of them are young women.The awareness week has been recognized to take place between June 23 and June 29 around the world for quite a few years. Youth with cancer have several unique needs that are not yet answered.Several prominent Israeli figures will take part in the events, including President Reuven Rivlin, Facebook Israel CEO Adi Soffer Teeni, Google Israel CEO Barak Regev. They will be joined in supporting the awareness week by hospitals, health service providers, the communications industry and many more.Artist and photographer Ron Kedmi was recruited for the awareness week after reflecting the different points in time in which young people's lives pause as they learn that they have cancer."Cancer is the number one cause of death for these young people," said CEO of the Tal Center and the Stop Cancer initiative Shir Kuperman. "It is also the reason that even after they survive it, their lives become stuck.""We demand that research be conducted to diagnose the problems, thus focusing resources, providing them with appropriate medical treatment and support that is suited to them, along with complementary services in welfare, employment, housing, at every stage when returning to society and life," Kuperman continued. "Stop Cancer is a unique breakthrough movement all over the world. It was founded to give thousands of young cancer patients an answer and serve as a mouthpiece for them against the establishment and society in general."Young cancer patients have psychosocial needs distinct from those of other demographics, according to publications by the National Cancer Institute as well as conversations with patient organizations. These issues arrise mainly because of other difficulties in coming of age such as sexuality, fertility, mental health, early symptoms of puberty and more.
