Adolescent and young adults (AYAs) require support from their parents and caregivers. While there are formal programs available for patients with complex medical problems, <20% of pediatric practices are performing transition readiness processes in patients aged 12-17 years to effective transition. Although cancer is the most common cause of disease-related death in AYAs in high-income countries, AYA oncology patients have not attained the same clinical improvements as pediatric patients, and their outcomes remain poorer. While there are published data on an expected degree of lag time for patients presenting with solid tumors, due to the underlying biology and slow growth of the cancer, we have recently witnessed extreme delays in the presentation to medical care. In this article, we share the cases of two young adults.
Keywords: adolescent and young adult (AYA); delayed cancer presentation.