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Nederlands
AYA - Care for Young Adults with Cancer
AYA’s (Adolescents & Young Adults)
Every year, approximately 3800 young adults between the ages of 18 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer. It turns your whole world upside down, in the prime of your life. You are confronted with an all-encompassing illness.
AYA care
As a young adult with cancer, you may face specific issues related to your age or situation. You may have normal questions related to an abnormal situation. At the NKI, our AYA care team is here to support you and answer any questions you may have, about all sorts of topics. The NKI AYA care team makes use of "Me and my..." age-specific topics. Find out more about this approach at the care network for young adults with cancer, the AYA-Zorgnetwerk.
The website of the AYA care network contains a questionnaire, only available in Dutch, that you can use to find out what you're struggling with and how you can put your questions into words. You can bring this questionnaire to the hospital.
Some of the questions you can expect to find on the questionnaire are:
- Should I still play sports?
- How can I start a relationship?
- Can I continue with my work or studies after my treatment?
- How should I tell my children, friends, and other people in my life?
- Will I need to cryobank egg or sperm cells to be able to have children later in life?
- How should I handle intimacy and sexuality?
- Can I keep living on my own or will I need to move back into my parents' house?
- How should I pick my life back up after my treatment?
- How can I deal with the emotions and feelings of my loved ones?
