Young adults with cancer often encounter a unique set of issues and challenges.

• They generally feel isolated and alone or "too young" to have cancer
• His or her peers are unlikely to understand cancer, let alone know how to behave or support someone who has it.
• They are typically just starting careers or families and come across financial struggles during treatment, not being able to work or well enough to care for a young family.
• Their parents and siblings are often left out of the support process and are left deal with little information and resources.
• They face fertility issues.
• They may not have sufficient health insurance
• They face intimacy and relationship struggles through their cancer journey
• Some are living in regional areas with little resources and support.
• Most importantly cancer forces many young adults to prematurely face their own mortality.

Children diagnosed with cancer have many resources available to them. Entire hospitals are dedicated to their treatment, they benefit from the majority of financial aid, research funds and foundations such as Make A Wish and Ronald McDonald House and, of course they typically have supportive parents to carefully manage their care.

Like children, older people are more likely to have numerous recourses: family nearby, a pre-existing support network via social, professional and community connections, health insurance or Medicare, a better understanding of cancer and, perhaps some financial security.

What we do at The Warwick Foundation

Advocate for the holistic treatment of young adults and their carergivers

Raise awareness on the unique needs of this age group

Support the diagnosed and their carergivers through our member programs

Provide relevant and age appropriate information

Advocate for the establishment of young adult care centres in Australia

Support young adult cancer networks and organisations in Australia and overseas

Support research programs into the needs of young adults with cancer