Helping young adult cancer survivors adopt a healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is especially important for young adult and teenage survivors of cancer, and how health behavior messages related to diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol consumption are developed and presented may impact their effectiveness in this population, according to an article in Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (JAYAO).

Gemma Pugh and coauthors from University College London, CLIC Sargent (London), and University College London Hospital, reviewed the medical literature and identified trends in the delivery and content of health behavior interventions specifically targeted to adolescent and young adult cancer survivors and characteristics shared by successful interventions. They highlight the potential benefits of including young cancer survivors in the design of the interventions and exploring the use of e-health technologies to support behavior change in this population. The researchers present their findings in the article "Health Behavior Change Interventions for Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review."

"The issue of healthy lifestyles is an extremely important component of cancer survivorship, and Gemma Pugh and her colleagues present an excellent framework for ongoing discussion and research into this important topic," says Editor-in-Chief Leonard S. Sender, MD, University of California, Irvine and CHOC Children's Hospital Hyundai Cancer Institute, Orange, CA.