Legendary rockers Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of the Who have come to the UCLA Medical Center to launch the first teen-and-young-adults-only cancer treatment unit in the United States.
The Daltrey/Townshend Teen & Young Adult Cancer Program will serve patients ages 15 to 25 following on the successful efforts of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which has helped fund 19 special youth cancer centers in the United Kingdom.
The belief is that teenagers and young adults shouldn’t stop enjoying their youth just because they have cancer.
Instead of being hospitalized with children in a pediatric unit or with seniors in adult oncology, teens in the Daltrey/Townshend program will be housed in adjoining patient rooms that surround a large common lounge for hanging out with their peers. The units are designed to provide, as closely as possible, a normal life, bringing young people together so they can be themselves first, and gather with other young people coping with cancer care.