Cancer affects tens of thousands of young people each year. Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be emotionally and socially challenging, particularly for adolescents or young adults, who are already experiencing a range of age-related changes. New research investigates the long-term impact of a cancer diagnosis on young adults.

Share on Pinterest New research shows that young cancer survivors may experience social difficulties many years after receiving their diagnosis.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimate that more than 60,000 young adults in the United States receive a cancer diagnosis each year. In the U.S., cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among adults aged between 20 and 39.

According to the ACS, survival rates among young adults have remained largely the same over the past few years, and progress in treatment and survival has been slower in this age group.

In young adults, as in other age groups, some cancers have a higher survival rate than others. Among teenagers aged between 15 and 19, for instance, around 95 percent of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma or testicular cancer survive for at least 5 years after their initial diagnosis, whereas people with brain tumors have a 65 percent 5-year survival rate.

Because adolescence and young adulthood are transitional phases with difficult social and emotional challenges, being diagnosed with cancer at this stage can be particularly trying.

Previous research has indicated that many young cancer survivors are more likely to develop chronic medical conditions, have an overall poor quality of life, and have less access to quality healthcare.

Additionally, young survivors have also been shown to have more trouble adjusting socially. Some of the difficulties reported include worries about feeling unwell, missing school, and falling behind academically, as well as difficulties continuing the treatment.

Although these studies have pointed to the social challenges this age group face immediately after diagnosis, fewer studies have focused on the psychosocial obstacles that these people face over time.

New research, led by Olga Husson, Ph.D., of the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, examines the long-term impact of a cancer diagnosis on the social life of young adults. The findings were published in Cancer.