National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week

This week, April 2-8, is National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week. I have some interesting statistics that I got from Planet Cancer that I’d like to share.

Cancer is the leading disease killer of 20 to 39 year olds.

Nearly 65,000 young adults in their 20s and 30s are diagnosed with cancer every year.

Young adults are the demographic group most likely to be under- or uninsured.

Only 2% of patients between 20 and 30 years old are in clinical trials, compared to 60% of patients under 15.

In contrast to younger and older patients, survival rates for young adults have not increased at all since 1975.

These are scary statistics AND they're dramatically under-reported. Without increased awareness, it is unlikely that these will change. People, especially in their 20's and 30's, generally think that it'll never happen to them. Trust me, it can happen to anyone.