AYA ‘Jong & Kanker’ Zorgnetwerk Moves to cancer-research-at-avl/” title=”Couple's Concert Raises Funds for Rare Breast Cancer Research at AVL”>Antoni van Leeuwenhoek in 2025: Centralizing Care for Young Adults with Cancer
Starting January 1, 2025, the central coordination of the national AYA ‘Jong & Kanker’ Zorgnetwork will take place at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (AVL) hospital. This network provides age-specific care to young adults (18-39 years) with cancer, connecting over 80 hospitals and numerous first-line care networks across the Netherlands. Its vision is to provide care as close to home as possible, and further away when necessary.
Dr. Eveliene Manten-Horst, director of the AYA Zorgnetwerk, expressed gratitude towards AVL for providing a space for the network’s coordination without compromising its independence. She highlighted the network’s continued support for AYA professionals, policymakers, and researchers in delivering personalized, comprehensive care.
Centralized Coordination for Unified Care Policy
The AYA network is centrally coordinated, with a team dedicated to ensuring unified care policies, nationwide training for healthcare providers, facilitating innovative care, and implementing AYA care. By collaboration with scientific research groups, the network can swiftly translate research findings into practice. Patients are also involved in all network activities.
In its early stages, the Radboudumc facilitated the start of the national network, which was later housed at the Integraal Kankercentrum Nederland (IKNL) from 2017. This period saw significant growth and professionalization. The move to AVL aligns with the Netherlands Authority for Healthcare’s decision to fund AYA care under the Health Insurance Act.
Winette van der Graaf, the internal medicine oncologist at AVL and chairperson of the AYA Zorgnetwerk’s board, lauds the decision to host the network at AVL. This move promotes collaboration with research groups led by Dr. Van der Graaf and Olga Husson, who also has her base at AVL.
Fortifying the Network with Strategic Investment
Concurrent with the move, the AYA Zorgnetwerk received a substantial subsidy from KWF to develop and implement a long-term strategy for AYA care. This strategy will be rolled out from 2025, further enhancing the network and driving innovative care.
The AYA Zorgnetwerk strives to provide young adult cancer patients with care tailored to their life stage and personal situation. Recently, an app was announced that enables young adults to register side effects of their treatment, providing them with more insight into their condition and facilitating discussions with healthcare providers.
