Milou Reuvers defends dissertation “Balancing on a Tightrope – Living with an Uncertain and Poor Cancer Prognosis as a Young Adult”
June 24, 2026
On June 24, 2026, our former team member Milou Reuvers defended her doctoral dissertation, “Balancing on a Tightrope – Living with an Uncertain and Poor Cancer Prognosis as a Young Adult”, marking the completion of her PhD trajectory in our research group. Milou was supervised by Winette van der Graaf and Olga Husson.
One of the parts of her thesis was based on the CORD-AYA study, which aimed to gain insight into the challenges that AYAs with a poor or uncertain prognosis experience in daily life and over time. 155 young adults participated in the longitudinal research. The challenges described in her thesis are beyond what oncologists usually discuss in the clinic. It is a wakeup call that treating a tumor in the best possible way is one, but organising holistic care for this group is equally important.
This is also why based on the thesis of Milou Reuvers and Vivian Burgers, the AYA Zorgnetwerk has made an e-module for healthcare professionals on this topic.
“Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) living with an uncertain or poor prognosis, as well as their loved ones, deserve care that is tailored to both their stage of life and their medical situation. I hope that the insights from this dissertation will contribute to the further development of such care.”
Congratulations, Milou, for this major milestone! We’re very proud of your achievements.