Anew: Reshaping Young Adult Cancer Care, Together

For most people, cancer is associated with later stages of life. But every year in Canada, nearly 9,200 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer — often while they are building careers, pursuing education, starting families, or establishing independence. Despite the growing number of young adults affected, cancer care systems have historically been designed for either pediatric or older adult patients, leaving many young adults without care that reflects their distinct medical, emotional, and life‑stage needs.

Anew is working to change that.

What Is Anew?

Anew is a research collaborative based at Royal Roads University that is focused on reshaping cancer care for adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Founded and led by Dr. Cheryl Heykoop, an associate professor and Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar, Anew brings together young adults with lived experience of cancer and a broad network of cancer care allies — including clinicians, decisionmakers, researchers, and community partners — to drive meaningful, system level change.

At the heart of Anew’s work is a simple but powerful idea: young adults are experts in their own experiences. Rather than being studied about, they are engaged with — as co-creators, collaborators, and change agents.

Why Young Adult Cancer Care Needs a Different Approach

Cancer during young adulthood can disrupt every aspect of life at once. Treatment often coincides with formative years marked by education, employment, fertility decisions, relationships, and identity building. Yet young adults frequently report feeling invisible within the healthcare system — too old for pediatric services, too young for adult programs that reflect their realities.

Through 5+ years of participatory research and engagement, Anew has helped surface common concerns facing young adults diagnosed with cancer, including access to counselling, fertility preservation, mental health support, navigating work or school during and after treatment, and managing relationships and uncertainty. These needs are compounded for young adults from communities that health systems have historically underserved, including racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, rural, and remote populations.

Co-Creating Change, Not Just Studying It

Anew’s work is grounded in participatory and creative research methods that prioritize relationship building, listening, and collective action. A pivotal moment came in 2022, when adolescents and young adults with cancer met alongside care providers at the BC Cancer Summit to articulate their hopes for a better system. That early gathering helped spark a growing movement of collaboration that continues today.

Since then, Anew has helped turn ideas into tangible changes. Young adults co-developed a centralized adolescent and young adult health information page with BC Cancer to make trusted resources easier to find. They collaborated on pilot projects that connected newly diagnosed patients to counselling support within days of diagnosis. They co-designed fertility care resources, referral pathways, and clinician tools to ensure fertility conversations happen early and consistently. In another initiative, young adults helped create an immersive performance experience that allows clinicians and peers to better understand what it feels like to navigate cancer at a young age.

These efforts reflect Anew’s commitment to translating lived experience into real world improvements in care, policy, training, and practice.

A Partnered, Participatory Vision for the Future

Anew works in close partnership with BC Cancer, BC Children’s Hospital, and community organizations to support the development of more responsive, equitable cancer care. Anew recently received funding from The Rix Family Foundation to support ongoing efforts to co-design a BC/Yukon young adult cancer care and support program — shaped directly by young adults and the professionals who care for them. They also received a grant from Vancouver Foundation to better understand and co-design supports that meet the needs of young people living in rural and remote communities. Together, Anew is committed to transforming cancer care for all AYAs across BC/Yukon.

Equally important is Anew’s emphasis on hope and momentum. While systems change can take time, the collaborative model Anew champions demonstrates that progress is possible when young adults are meaningfully included in shaping the care they receive. In fact, working together is the only way to create lasting change, says Heykoop.

Moving Forward Together

Anew is not just a research initiative — it is a growing community committed to listening, learning, and acting together. By centering young adult voices and fostering partnerships across disciplines and sectors, Anew is helping to reimagine what cancer care can look like when it truly reflects the lives of those it aims to serve.

To learn more about Anew and its work, visit anewresearch.ca or explore Royal Roads University’s recent stories on co‑creating care and reshaping young adult cancer care.