Hackensack University Medical Center will expand its Adolescent and Young Adult program, the only one of its kind statewide, thanks to a gift from Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank
Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center is thrilled to announce a partnership with Teen Cancer America. The partnership, the first of its kind in New Jersey, will expand the hospital’s Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) program and connect more young cancer patients with vital services. AYA programs treat people between the ages of 15 and 39 who have received a cancer diagnosis, and are designed to address the survival gap present among patients in this age group, particularly as recent years have seen significantly larger survival gains among cancer patients as a whole.
A generous donation from Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank will help Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and the John Theurer Cancer Center, both located on the Hackensack University Medical Center campus, hire two additional full-time team members for its AYA program; an AYA program coordinator and an AYA social worker, which will help to bridge the gap in care for these patients.
“We’re very happy to bring additional support to this group of patients who have unique needs when they develop cancer,” said Burton Appel, M.D., associate director of the Children’s Cancer Institute at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. “Many times, they are the oldest patients in pediatric settings and the youngest in the adult, which leads to feeling overwhelmed and isolated. Having a robust program to address all of their needs in an appropriate way is so important, and the generous support from Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank will make a tremendous difference in the lives of our patients.”
Dr. Appel added that philanthropy has played a large role in creating and sustaining the AYA program at the Children’s Hospital and John Theurer Cancer Center. He hopes that these additional resources will help lead to more patients enrolling in clinical trials to help create medical breakthroughs - a key priority of the AYA program.
Adolescents and young adults face unique challenges when coping with a cancer diagnosis. It can be difficult for teens and young adults with cancer to manage the disease’s emotional and social challenges, including those associated with being a teen, relationships, sexuality, fertility, body image, missing school, worries about long-term health, starting careers or having families.
With the largest pediatric and adult cancer programs in New Jersey, the AYA program at Hackensack University Medical Center links adolescent and young adult patients and their families to support and ancillary services, while helping to coordinate treatment and supportive care and improve enrollment into clinical trials. In addition, this program helps to strengthen communication between the medical and pediatric oncology teams to provide comprehensive care to adolescents and young adults, regardless of their treatment site.
“The hope for New Jersey is always to keep people in New Jersey,” said Hilary Gan, chief programs officer at Teen Cancer America. “Keeping people close to home is a real challenge for this population and for their families and caregivers. If people can be closer to home and not have to go to New York or to Philadelphia, that makes a huge difference.”
The gift from Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank, allocated over three years, totals $379,819. This donation is the latest example of community-based philanthropy between Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank; their coordination dates back to 2015 and has helped create or expand AYA programs with several hospital partners nationwide.
"First Citizens Bank is proud to support the AYA program at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital,” said Doug Sprecher, executive director of Community Affairs and Sustainability at First Citizens Bank. "Together with Teen Cancer America, our philanthropic partner for over a decade, we remain committed to delivering better outcomes and helping transform the lives of young people with cancer.”
“This life-changing donation presents a tremendous opportunity for us to expand our offerings for Adolescent and Young Adult patients across New Jersey, and we thank Teen Cancer America and First Citizens Bank for selecting Hackensack University Medical Center as their first partner in the state,” said Joyce P. Hendricks, president and chief development officer of Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation. “This tremendous gift will help ease some of the unique challenges facing our young cancer patients.”
The gift from Teen Cancer America will contribute to a $10 million goal set in celebration of the tenth anniversary of Tackle Kids Cancer (TKC), which raises crucial funds for pediatric cancer research and patient care programs across Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health. With Eli Manning as the captain of TKC since its inception in 2015, more than $30 million has been raised to help children and families facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis.
To learn more about how you can support the AYA program, or others, at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, or the John Theurer Cancer Center, visit GiveHMH.org/JMSCH.