Developing a support service for teenage and young adult cancer survivors with osteonecrosis
Intended for healthcare professionals
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Developing a support service for teenage and young adult cancer survivors with osteonecrosis

Nicola Chesman Senior physiotherapist, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England
Anna Mackland Senior occupational therapist, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England
Lorna McWilliams Research fellow, Christie Patient Centred Research (CPCR) group, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England

Osteonecrosis is a recently established side effect of teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer, caused by the increasing use of corticosteroids in some treatment protocols. It is a long-term, disabling and painful bony condition, and there is no consensus on best management. A major UK cancer centre identified a gap in support for these patients and developed a TYA osteonecrosis support group. This article explains how and why the group was created, and describes themes frequently discussed by the young people in the group and the subsequent projects. The discussions revealed that osteonecrosis has a varied and significant effect on TYAs, ranging from ability to engage in work to enjoyment of life. Future plans include further exploration of TYA patients’ experience of osteonecrosis through qualitative research.

Cancer Nursing Practice. 16, 6, 36-40. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2017.e1425

Correspondence

nicola.chesman@christie.nhs.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 28 March 2017

Accepted: 28 April 2017

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