Adolescent and young adult oncology

In countries like the US and the UK, specialized AYA units have started to be built in children's and adult hospitals to cater to the need of these age groups. AYA wards are designed to be bright and welcoming with many games and televisions to keep patients busy. The need for these spaces come from the findings that AYAs tend to prefer pediatric wards over adult wards, but do not like to be treated like children.

AYA teams are usually made up of specialists that specialize in both pediatric and adult medicine because people under 21 tend to do better under pediatric care.

United States

Internationally, different countries tend to treat the AYA age group in different environments. Most AYA treatment centers in the US are within larger children's hospitals. The organization, Teen Cancer America was created to establish more AYA wards in hospitals across the US, and currently there are about 21 hospitals affiliated with Teen Cancer America, and many more with AYA programs. The American Academy of Pediatrics' opinion is that children should be under the care of a pediatrician until they deem not necessary, and children's hospitals in the US are increasingly treating older patients well into their twenties as a part of AYA and other adult programs.