Kendra Bast, of Pewaukee, was 18 and enjoying her freshman year of college when her life was derailed by acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of blood cancer.
Because of Kendra’s age, doctors referred her to Children’s Wisconsin for cancer treatment. Chemotherapy was successful, but by age 20, Kendra’s cancer returned. She went back to Children’s Wisconsin for more chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
As a young adult, Kendra faced a new set of challenges — not only cancer, but also everything from switching health insurance for better coverage to considering her fertility preservation options.
“It’s such an odd age bracket,” said Kendra, now 27. “I was the oldest person in the Children’s Wisconsin waiting room. Later, when I transitioned into adult care, I was the youngest person in the waiting room. I was also in a weird stage of life. I needed help with how to tell my school I was sick and what that looked like. I needed help figuring out insurance stuff.”
How the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Support Program Helps Patients Thrive
The Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Support Program provided a wealth of resources to get her through challenging times. The program was created in 2015 to serve the unique needs of teens and younger adults — patients ages 15 through 39. It is a partnership involving the Children’s Wisconsin MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Network.
“People in this age range are frequently in a state of transition,” said John Charlson, MD, medical oncologist, co-director of the AYA program and MCW faculty member. “Younger people may not have settled into a job with solid insurance or are just learning how to manage their own complex health situation. They need emotional support and much more. In this transition period, people can fall through cracks. We want to make sure they don’t miss out on resources available to them.”
In 2025, using a three-year grant from Teen Cancer America, the program hired a full-time program coordinator and created a data tracking tool to improve care. The coordinator identifies and educates new AYA patients and connects them to resources, including support groups, psychologists, social workers, financial counselors and fertility specialists.
After Kendra’s bone marrow transplant, she craved community. She joined First Descents, an organization that provides adventure experiences for young adults who have had cancer, for a week of rock climbing in Colorado. She attended other “cancer camps” and joined a creative writing group — all opportunities she learned about through the AYA program.
“That connection was huge for me,” she said. “I needed to have people validate what I was feeling. It was something none of my other friends could understand.”
As Kendra got older, she transitioned her care to the Froedtert & MCW health network, where she works with Stephen Malcom, MD, a doctor trained in both internal medicine and pediatrics and an MCW faculty member who has a special interest in addressing the lifelong needs of people who have been treated for cancer. Kendra also joined a committee of clinicians and other people who have had cancer to support AYA education and outreach efforts.
In March, Kendra celebrates seven years of being cancer free. But she still leans on the AYA program when needed. When she married and started thinking about starting a family, she consulted Stephanie Gunderson, MD, a reproductive endocrinology specialist and MCW faculty member.
Kendra’s cancer experience inspired her to pursue a career as an oncology nurse, and she applied for nursing school while still in her hospital bed at Children’s Wisconsin. Today, she works with leukemia patients on a special inpatient unit at Froedtert Hospital.
“I know what it’s like to be that patient in the bed,” she said. “And I love being their advocate.”
Learn More About the AYA Cancer Program
