Adolescent + Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program

Susan K. Parsons, MD, MRP, Program Director, is Founding Director of the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program at Tufts Medical Center. She has over 25 years of experience as a board certified pediatric hematologist/oncologist. As a Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, her research focuses on functional and fiscal impact of chronic illness on children and their families. She is an internationally renowned scholar of health-related quality of life assessment for children; the instruments she has developed have been used in multiple clinical trials. Originally trained as a health economist, Dr. Parsons has worked closely with payers and institutional leaders on the development of alternative payment models for high cost treatments, including bone marrow transplantation.

Nadine Linendoll, PhD, MDiv, GNP, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts Medical School with over 20 years of experience, first as a bedside nurse and then as oncology nurse practitioner. She is an adult-trained nurse practitioner, initially specializing in neuro-oncology, prior to devoting her time to the AYA Cancer Program. In addition to her doctoral degree from Boston College in nursing, she also received a Master’s of Divinity from Boston University with a special focus on spirituality and healthcare.

Nadine prepares Survivorship Care Plans and oversees patient’s complex care coordination. One focus of this care has been in onco-fertility and Nadine recently completed specialized training through the ECHO program (Enriching Communication Skills for Health Professionals in Oncofertility). Nadine is also committed to increasing knowledge and academic scholarship within AYA Survivorship and contributes to health related quality of life and survivorship-related research.

Rachel Murphy-Banks, MA, Program Manager, is the point of contact for the AYA Program. She works with patients to schedule their survivorship as well as referral appointments and helps get their questions answered. She also strives to build connections with the AYA community within and outside of the Medical Center.

Alissah Sillah, MPH, Project Coordinator, joined the AYA Program in May 2022. She provides programmatic support to the AYA team. This support includes assisting with presentations and manuscripts to broaden our reach on a regional, national and international scale. Her interest in public health and health services informs her participation in the AYA-related research conducted by the AYA Program.