Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of the British rock band The Who inaugurated a teen and young adult cancer center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Friday, CBS Los Angeles reported.
The Daltrey/Townshend Teen & Young Adult Cancer Program, modeled after the Teenage Cancer Trust in the United Kingdom, will provide medical care and emotional support to young patients coping with cancer, CBS said.
“At a time when your body is changing, your social life is everything and you’re still trying to figure out who you are, getting cancer can seem like an impossible blow to take,” Daltrey said, according to CBS. “We believe that teenagers have a much better chance in their fight against cancer if they are treated by experts specializing in their care in a compassionate environment tailored to their needs.”
While UCLA officials say teens and young adults diagnosed with cancer are often treated in either pediatric units or adult oncology units, the Teen & Young Adult Cancer Program will offer a more supportive environment that includes a common area and shared lounge, CBS reports.
UCLA officials say the center is the first of its type in the U.S.
“We feel confident that this historic partnership and the launch of the first Daltrey/Townshend Teen & Young Adult Cancer Program in America will establish a more truly healing environment for our adolescent patients and set
the stage for an expansion of the program to medical institutions across the United States,” said Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive officer of the UCLA Health System.
