SeventyK Launches the Stop A Doc Video Contest to Improve Survival Rates for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients
Orange, CA (PRWEB) August 30, 2011
Meet Carey Moyer. “I work at a place called ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’, Disneyland, the place ‘where dreams come true’. But 18 months ago my own dreams came to a sudden stop.” Carey is a 32-year-old project manager at Disneyland; she is also a breast cancer survivor and part of the adolescent and young adult cancer segment known as AYA. “I had just gotten married, then blammo – stage three breast cancer. Now the mastectomy, chemo and radiation are behind me. I want to empower other young adults with the awareness to know their own bodies, so they can tell when something subtle is wrong, and have the confidence to let their doctors know about it.”
Seventy thousand Americans aged 15 to 39 years old are diagnosed with cancer every year. “I wish someone had done Stop A Doc on my doctors. The first doctor to examine me said, ‘It’s a lump but it’s not cancer – you’re only 31.’ Then I met Dr. Leonard Sender. His diagnosis probably saved my life,” says Moyer. Misdiagnosis is a significant problem with AYA cancers. Patients have special needs and challenges including early diagnosis and fertility preservation.
“For over two decades the survival rates for adolescent and young adult cancer patients has stayed the same. SeventyK is fighting to change that,” says Dr. Leonard Sender, Founder of SeventyK and Medical Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program in the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children’s and UC Irvine’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Sender, known as “Lennie” by his patients, has an unflagging passion to better health outcomes for this under-served cancer segment.
How is SeventyK going to improve the survival rates of AYA cancer patients? “Education is the beginning”, says Sender. Moyer agrees. “There are just five things healthcare professionals need to know to understand the basics. And we’re on a mission to educate … creatively, but firmly, on video, and maybe even with a sense of humor, or music, or even dance. We’re speaking up.”
The Stop A Doc campaign features the Stop A Doc video contest. Patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and medical students can enter the contest to win cash prizes. Best videos will be featured on SeventyK.org and become a Stop A Doc public service announcement. Details and official rules are at StopADoc.org.
SeventyK is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit medical charity dedicated to changing the course of AYA cancer. SeventyK has also launched a free wellness network for AYA patients and healthcare professionals – the SeventyK Wellness Network.
Bios:
Leonard Sender, MD, is board certified both in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology with professional interests strongly centered on the diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer (patients aged 15 to 39). Dr. Sender is Medical Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program in the Hyundai Cancer Institute at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and UC Irvine’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Carey Moyer works as a creative entertainment project manager for the Walt Disney Company at Disneyland. But she first met cancer at the age of nine when her mother was diagnosed with a rare melanoma. A decade later she lost her mom to that cancer. Carey feared that someday she too might have to battle cancer, but never imagined that it would happen so soon. Not long after her marriage, at 31, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Her journey has included fertility treatment, chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiation. She now shares her story with young adults everywhere. Her goal is to teach that knowing our bodies “in health” can enable early detection – a lifesaver.
For additional press and downloads, visit SeventyK.org.
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