What Young Adults with Cancer Really Need: A Conversation with Emily Sarro

In this episode, we speak with Emily Long Sarro, a board-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in adolescent and young adult (AYA) care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. We focus on the unique challenges AYAs face before, during, and after a stem cell transplant. Emily shares how this age group, defined as 15 years old to 39 years old by the National Cancer Institute, is often overlooked in the healthcare system, stuck between pediatric and adult care settings. They’re navigating identity, relationships, careers, and independence—while also managing a serious illness, which can disrupt or halt life milestones.

We discuss how Emily approaches AYA care with a holistic mindset—merging clinical treatment with emotional and mental health support. She emphasizes the importance of granting young patients autonomy and private space, especially when families may unintentionally overstep. She urges healthcare providers to always include mental health support in the treatment plan, noting that anxiety, depression, and even PTSD are common in this group, both during and long after treatment.

Emily also stresses the need for daily coping tools like journaling, movement, and meditation to supplement infrequent counseling sessions. She encourages us to create trust by really listening, especially since many AYAs feel dismissed in early diagnostic stages due to their age.

We then dive into critical but often unspoken topics: fertility preservation, sexual health, and survivorship. Emily outlines time-sensitive fertility options and highlights the emotional toll if these aren’t addressed early. She covers the hidden costs of care and offers resource suggestions like Livestrong and Cancer and Careers. She also calls attention to "silent disabilities" that persist post-transplant and affect career and daily function, emphasizing self-advocacy in the workplace. Coworkers and others may not "see" these limitations, but accommodations are often necessary.

We discuss milestones missed due to treatment and the emotional weight of watching peers move on through social media. Emily suggests practical ways to stay socially connected, such as virtual events and platforms like Cancer Buddy. For caregivers, she reminds us that support often means just being present and handling small tasks that feel overwhelming to the patient.  It's important to hold space for patients' sadness over missing milestones, but when appropriate, the big picture remains: they may be sacrificing a few milestones now to experience many more later.

The episode closes with a deeply moving survivor story—a young man from The Bronx who overcame mistrust in the medical system, underwent a transplant, and now runs a thriving music production business. His resilience and transformation encapsulate the hope and strength that defines this patient group.

More:

Marrow Masters Season 9, Episode 2, with fertility resources in Show Notes: https://marrowmasters.simplecast.com/episodes/preserving-fertility-through-cancer-treatment

CancerCare – https://www.cancercare.org

Imerman’s Angels – https://imermanangels.org

Livestrong Fertility – https://livestrong.org/how-we-help/livestrong-fertility/

Worth the Wait – https://worththewaitcharity.com/

Maggie’s Dream (Fertility Preservation Assistance)–https://www.teammaggiesdream.org/

Cancer and Careers – https://www.cancerandcareers.org

Cancer Buddy App (Bone Marrow Foundation) –https://bonemarrow.org/support-and-financial-aid-2/support/about-cancerbuddy

Thanks to our Season 17 Sponsors:

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS): https://lls.org/

and Incyte: https://incyte.com/

National Bone Marrow Transplant Link - (800) LINK-BMT, or [phone].

nbmtLINK Website: https://www.nbmtlink.org/

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