Young people diagnosed with cancer have unique needs extending from diagnosis, through treatment, and into long-term survivorship care. That is why NCD Child Young Leader, Sophie Manoy, decided to create the ‘One Step‘ initiative, an advocacy project designed to support young people diagnosed with cancer by providing targeted information about diagnosis, treatment modalities and follow up, as well as building a platform for young people to share these experiences. One Step raises general awareness about cancer prevention for young people more broadly and about the inequities that currently exist in access to quality cancer care across the globe.
Project goals and concept
Core goals:
- Support young people diagnosed with cancer or with a lived experience of cancer
- Raise awareness about cancer prevention for young people
- Build a network and a voice for young people diagnosed with cancer to advocate for their health needs
The concept behind One Step:
One Step…Backward: Cancer prevention
One Step…At a Time: Roadmap through diagnosis
One Step… Forward: Treatment modalities
One Step…Together: Shared experiences
One Step…Closer: Inequities in global cancer care
A platform for resources
One Step provides open-access information for young people, presented in an appropriate and engaging format focused on:
- Prevention of skin, lung and cervical cancer
- Pathway to diagnosis from initial presentation through investigations and imaging
- Cancer treatment modalities including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy
One Step is also a platform where young people have the opportunity to share their own stories in any format of their choosing and to learn about other experiences, as an attempt to address the social isolation that arises from facing a cancer diagnosis as a young person.
The project is also a vehicle to build an advocacy group, the Young Cancer Collaborative Australia, aimed at filling the gap for young people in consumer representation.
While this project focuses on Australia, the resources and shared experiences are available, open-access online and feedback is welcome from all.
