Psychosocial and supportive care concerns of young women living with advanced breast cancer: baseline findings from a prospective virtual support intervention study

Adolescent and young adults (AYAs) with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) experience high physical and psychosocial burdens compounded by a disrupted life trajectory. We sought to determine the psychosocial and supportive care concerns of this population to better understand and address unmet needs. AYAs diagnosed with MBC (18–39 years) participating in a prospective interventional study (Young, Empowered, and Strong) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute completed an electronic survey following enrollment. Measures evaluated sociodemographics, health behaviors, quality of life, and symptoms, among others. We used two-sided Fisher’s exact tests to determine associations between concerns (e.g., cancer progression, side effects, lifestyle, finances, fertility) and demographic variables. Among 77 participants enrolled from 9/2020–12/2022, average age at MBC diagnosis and survey was 35.9 (range: 22–39) and 38.3 years (range: 27–46), respectively. Most were non-Hispanic white (83.8