‘Youth booth’ for cancer patients

THEY are regarded as too old to be children and too young to be adults.

This is the situation many adolescents and young adults find themselves in hospitals throughout the country, with many finding the hospital environment not only intimidating, but also isolating as some health facilities have been designed to either cater for children or adults.

It is with this in mind that a Cape Town charity organisation, Ari’s Fund for Cancer – Live Laugh Love, initiated a “youth booth” – a programme that is aimed at keeping young cancer patients not only busy while receiving treatment in hospital, but entertained too.

Josh Jansen from Ari’s Fund for Cancer and brother of Ari Jansen – who lost her battle to cancer in 2011 at the age of 22 following a brain tumour – said the youth booth was specifically aimed for the needs of adolescents and young adults.

Set to be launched at Red Cross Children’s Hospital this weekend, the initiative was aimed at giving young cancer patients a “comfortable area to relax and be entertained while they undergo treatment at the hospital”.

“This area is also designed to identify with the type of colourful and energetic energy that we hope to give to the young adult rather that being consumed with the negatives thoughts of the treatment.

“As my sister Ari did, we live by the philosophy of live, laugh, love.

“There is also a workstation with a computer so that youth can work on homework or projects if necessary,” he said.

The computer monitor would double as a TV screen for when the individual wants to play games on the PlayStation unit that is installed.

Shelf space on the R100 000 unit would also allow patients to store their books and magazines.

Professor Alan Davidson, who is the head of Haematology-Oncology at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, said that teenagers and young adults – defined as those aged 15 to 25 years – usually suffered “unique biological, clinical, psychosocial, and survivorship issues”, and were often suffering from a different set of cancers such as breast, lymphoma, melanoma, sarcoma and thyroid cancer, as well as testicular and cervical cancer.

He said that not only were their cancers often overlooked by medics who had low index of suspicion for cancer in this group, but once on treatment, this age group often found themselves alienated within the context of cancer services.

“Teenagers in paediatric units struggle with crying babies and an environment which does not recognise their need to have some autonomy.

“Older adolescents and young adults in adult units are equally vulnerable to alienation in services that are not set up to deal with their psychosocial needs,” he said.

Davidson said the youth booth would be a point of constancy for patients who needed to be referred from one service to another.

It would serve as a bridge for the focused care of this group of patients.