The first phase of the ‘cancer in young adults’ project was completed last year. It was based on narrative accounts written by the parents of young adults with cancer and resulted in a number of publications designed to be used by both parents and professionals in their support of the young adults.

I am currently gathering data for the second phase of the project in which I am interviewing the young adults themselves. The aim of the qualitative interviews is to contribute to an in-depth understanding of the experience from the perspective of the young people with cancer. Some interviews are taking place with inpatients on a specialist unit that treats teenagers and young adults with cancer. Other interviews are being conducted with outpatients drawn from a Trust with no specialist care provision. Thus it is hoped that the results will present a range of experiences of settings of care, illness types and treatment regimes that will help to identify best practice and also clarify how the young people experience the illness and its treatment and to understand the effect it has on their lives.

The outcome of the research forms the basis of a book on the subject, published by Open University Press in February 2007. Further details of this publication can be found at:
http://mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0335221548.html