A Massey University psychology doctoral student is seeking participants for a study looking into the needs of young people living with cancer.
Nicole Cameron is looking to recruit 15 people aged between 16 and 25 years, who have been diagnosed and treated for cancer. They will take part in a card-sorting task where participants are required to group similar kinds of social interactions.
Ms Cameron wants the study to focus on the social aspects of teenagers with cancer.
She said she was concerned with youth development at a time when self-consciousness about body image, emerging sexuality, emotional turbulence and peer pressure were keenly felt.
"Being diagnosed and treated for cancer, and managing visible side effects such as hair loss, weight gain and disfigurement, can add another whole dimension to the turmoil of youth."
Ms Cameron, once a teenage cancer patient herself, is motivated by her own experience and awareness of the unique challenges for people in this age group.
"Adolescence and youth can be tricky enough with normal developmental changes to deal with," she said. "Add in the uncertainty, fear and loneliness of coping with a cancer diagnosis - including such things as the physical impact of chemotherapy on a young person's emerging identity and self-esteem - and youth can be an extremely hard period to navigate".
She will collate the results of the card-sorting exercise to form a multi-dimensional model that will map the emotional interactions of young people with cancer.
Using the model, Ms Cameron wants to find out about communication experiences and the needs and sensitivities of young people with cancer. With her findings, she hopes to provide resources and information that will help families, friends and health professionals provide the right kind of support for this age bracket.
"Even health professionals, I found, didn't know what to say because they don't come across many young people with cancer," Ms Cameron said. "It's a bigger picture, there is a huge stigma around the subject of death or chronic outcomes.
"People just don't seem to know how to talk about it but it doesn't have to be that way."
The study can be done from anywhere and material is sent by post. It takes about one hour to complete and participants will receive a $20 gift card once finished.
For more information or to take part please email nicolecameronresearch@hotmail.com.