Israel’s only dedicated cancer hospital, the Davidoff Comprehensive Cancer Center, has opened an Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Clinic to help patients from ages 18 to 44 who are going through treatment for the disease.
Davidoff, which is dedicated to cancer prevention, treatment and research, is part of Beilinson Medical Center in Petach Tikva, one of Israel’s largest hospitals. The center treats one in every seven patients in Israel who are diagnosed each year with any type of solid or hematological cancer.
In Israel, 10 young adults receive a cancer diagnosis each day. Nearly 10 percent of the patients at the Davidoff Center are adolescents and young adults. Each month, 30-50 young adult patients begin their journey at the clinic, which was created through a grant from Halasartan (Stop Cancer).
Adolescents and young adults going through cancer treatment have unique challenges as they go through their treatment journey, which is different from pediatric patients and older adults.
Some of the most common concerns include intimacy while in treatment and infertility caused by chemotherapy.
Patients with children worry if the disease is genetic and how their illness will affect their children.
Single patients worry most about how their cancer diagnosis will impact future relationships, in finding a spouse and when to tell a significant other.
Patients who are still students have questions about how to continue with their degree while needing to take time off for treatment and not wanting to fall behind.
“Adolescents and young adult patients have their own unique concerns which require a specially dedicated team to address their needs matched to where they are in their lives,” said Prof. Gal Markel, the head of the Davidoff Center and chairman of the Samueli Integrative Cancer Pioneering Institute.
“We are constantly looking to provide the best integrative care possible to address what matters to our patients and we are very excited about the launch of our clinic and are already seeing the positive impact it is having on our patients.”
Clinic Nurse Coordinator Rachel Shyman added that the goal is to let patients know they are not alone in facing the illness. “Whether it’s navigating their treatment, helping to connect them with other young people going through cancer or helping them prepare for life after treatment, we are here for them,” she said.
“This is what personalized medicine is all about – whether the patient is a student, a parent, or single and looking to date, we are here to help them navigate this experience and their future in remission.”
