Hi Santiago.
There
are AA patients in their teens and 20s. I've met and talked to some of them at the annual Patient & Family Conference.
There's no good age to have aplastic anemia, but it's especially hard for teens and people in their early 20s when a disease like AA strikes just as they are going through adolescence, separating from parents, heading for college or new jobs, and beginning careers and marriages as they start their lives as independent adults.
These are the years when people usually have the best health and fitness of their lives, and suddenly needing serious medical care and once again being dependent on other family members can turn the tables on the normal progress to adulthood. When your life is threatened and you spend much of your time fighting a disease, it can have a major effect on your confidence about having the life you planned.
If there's any upside to dealing with AA when you are in this age range, it's that your health is likely to be excellent, other than the AA, and that can give you the lowest risks from treatments. When my wife was diagnosed with AA at age 41, one of the subtle messages we got as we studied treatment statistics was "too bad she's not 19."
There are unique concerns for these patients, such as how to complete their education and start their career paths while dealing with AA, limits on the physical activities they are used to, and the effects of treatments on their appearance and future fertility.
Like you, I encourage young adult patients to talk to each other, and this is one place where that can happen. The
AA&MDSIF 2007 Patient & Family Conference will be in Las Vegas this coming August, and for those who can attend it's a great opportunity to find other patients, talk to them in person, share information, and form friendships.