Rock superstars Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of “The Who” have a new cause: sparking a franchise of teen-oriented cancer treatment centers across America. To kick off the launch of Teen Cancer America, Daltrey & Townshend were featured at a conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. I was fortunate to be invited to sit at the head table next to teen cancer survivor Sarah Sterner – a bright and confident young woman from Atlanta who was cured of brain cancer two years ago.
Sarah told the crowd what it was like to be a fifteen-year-old in a pediatric oncology unit populated by ukulele-playing clowns and screaming infants. The extreme age-related disconnect between her pscho-social needs and that of younger kids and babies served to make her feel even more isolated during her course of treatment. She longed for the companionship of others like her, but without any national cancer centers focused on the special needs of teens, she was on her own.
Roger Daltrey became interested in teen cancer when his personal physician took up the cause in the U.K. and turned to him for support. Daltrey’s decades of playing music to teen audiences made him keenly aware of their unique psycho-social needs. “When you’re a teenager, it’s horrifying if you have a spot on your nose. Imagine what it’s like if you have cancer!” said Daltrey.
Teen Cancer America began as a movement called the Teen Cancer Trust in the U.K. According to Daltrey, preliminary research (comparing teens treated in a typical NHS cancer ward versus a unit sponsored by the Teen Cancer Trust) suggests that there may be as much as a 15% survival advantage in being treated in the special units. Daltrey attributes this to increased morale that helps teens and families find the will to fight through life-threatening treatments.
When asked how American cancer centers compare to those in the U.K. Daltrey immediately responded that he believed the U.S. centers were far superior. He described the incredible resources available at UCLA and Duke, and how the facilities themselves were unbelievably beautiful, sporting plant-filled atria, massive skylights, and high tech imaging and radiation equipment. Nonetheless, he noted, “Teens don’t want to hang out in an atrium. There is just no place that appeals to teenagers at these centers.”
Whether specialized teen cancer treatment environments in the U.S. will dramatically improve survival rates remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that recognizing the unique psycho-social needs of teenagers would be a boon for patients and families at pediatric cancer centers. Like post-traumatic stress disorder in military personnel, the psychological ravages of cancer may well be under recognized, especially in the teen and young adult populations.
Thank you Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend for bringing this to our attention.
C-Sections: The number of births by Cesarean section in Calif. has risen 50 percent in the past 10 years, new research shows, but it isn’t because of the health benefits over vaginal delivery. Researchers cite financial incentives for doctors and an “awareness gap” of the procedure’s risks among the explanations, Stephanie O’Neill reports for KPCC public radio.
Fear of the “freshman 15” weight gain is overrated, says one researcher who found that the average college student packs on only between about 2.5 and 3.5 pounds.
And it might not even be the college lifestyle that causes one’s backpack to become a little more snug. Rather, it’s part of the natural transition into adulthood. The typical freshman only gains about a half-pound more than a same-age person who didn’t go to college.
“Not only is there not a ‘freshman 15,’ there doesn’t appear to be even a ‘college 15’ for most students,” researchers said in a press release.
The researchers concluded that the myth of the freshman 15 may contribute to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
Here’s a new video game from Zombie Cow Studios that could help educate teenagers about sexual and reproductive health in a colorful way.
Elizabeth Boskey, Ph.D., About.com’s Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) guide, writes in her blog post entitled “It’s Only A Game“:
When I first saw the announcement for Privates, I found the concept vaguely appalling — condom-hatted soldiers (privates) swarming into people’s body parts (privates) to shoot at all the nasty invaders one can find there. However, the second I watched the trailer I was instantly converted to a fan. Privates was clearly designed by people who were paying attention in sex-ed class. The epithelium looks like epithelium! There are bacteria that I can recognize from what I’ve seen under my microscope and sperm that look like sperm. The whole thing is brilliantly designed and, although it’s only a game, the amount of thought and effort put into it fills me with awe. By funding the development of games like Privates, Channel 4 is showing some amazing innovation in their commitment to educational entertainment.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
I was having fun watching my niece play with dozens of pool inner tubes when another relative shows up. Never one to surprise me, he shows me a fashion statement I’d never seen before. How do you get your kids to wear their seatbelts?
The key here is repetition. Just like a medical school education, repetition is what makes us experts. Doing the same thing over and over again makes us great at what we do. To get your kids to wear their seatbelt every time, you must make it a part of their daily existence. How do you do that? You buy them a “seatbelt” belts from Honda. Read more »
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Rock superstars Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of “The Who” have a new cause: sparking a franchise of teen-oriented cancer treatment centers across America. To kick off the launch of Teen Cancer America, Daltrey & Townshend were featured at a conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. I was fortunate to be invited to sit at the head table next to teen cancer survivor Sarah Sterner – a bright and confident young woman from Atlanta who was cured of brain cancer two years ago.
Domestic Violence: 25 percent of women surveyed by the government 
I was having fun watching my niece play with dozens of 
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