Barrier to AYA-O Care

Barrier to AYA-O Care, presented by Susan Parsons, MD, Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center.

Dr. Parsons is a Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Reid R. Sacco AYA Cancer Program at Tufts Medical Center. Her research has focused on strategies to improve the patient’s experience with healthcare, reduce regimen-related toxicity, and optimize functioning. Nationally, she serves as a member of the Children’s Oncology Group’s (COG) Steering Committees for AYA and Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) and as a member of the study team of several frontline clinical trials in which patient-reported outcomes (PRO) have been embedded. In the recently completed high risk HL pediatric study (AHOD 1331), she led pre-planned studies on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, health-related quality of life, and cost effectiveness analysis. In the recently accrued cross-network clinical trial comparing two novel agents in the treatment of advanced stage HL (S1826), Dr. Parsons serves as the PRO chair. In 2019 Dr. Parsons was appointed chair of cancer care delivery research (CCDR) for COG and has served as a member of the NCI’s Scientific Steering for CCDR for eight years. Within her own research, she is co-founder of the HoLISTIC Consortium (Hodgkin Lymphoma International Study for Individual Care) with the goal of developing clinical decision tools to enhance patient-provider communication on treatment trade-offs in HL. She also leads a multi-institutional study on financial toxicity among blood cancer survivors, examining the role of a financial navigator to mitigate financial distress.