Completing cancer treatment is a challenge for many cancer patients and their families. Although they are relieved to have ended this phase, they are leaving the health care team with whom they have long been involved, and have many concerns about their next steps.
With the passage of time, the needs and problems of people who have had cancer change, with some requiring few services while others finding it difficult to continue without support and many resources to help them.
What's in a Name? Who Is a Cancer Survivor?
Survivorship means different things to different people, according to Julia H.
Rowland, PhD, director of the NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship.
Read more.
The Survivorship Committee considered the following information when setting its goals and objectives:
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Number of survivors. The number of cancer survivors is growing rapidly
and is expected to increase from 10 million today to an estimated 11.3 million in 2015.
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Depression. Although the majority of survivors successfully adapt
to gradual physical and psychological recovery during the first year
after treatment ends, about 20-25% report depressive symptoms.
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Late side effects. Some survivors struggle with
persistent and late physical effects of treatment for many
years, if not throughout their lifetimes.
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Follow-up exams. The few national guidelines for follow-up that do exist
are not well known or used by the average doctor. There is often a lack of continuity
of care for survivors across and within specialty care practices. No one--neither patients
and their families nor the health care professionals--know who is responsible for what.
- Support. Resources for supportive interventions are limited in doctors’ offices, where most people have received their treatment and care. The scope of existing services and whether the services meet the needs has not been assessed.
Click on the link below to download the Survivorship chapter of the Connecticut
Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan.
Empowering Survivors & Their
Families (PDF, 278 KB)
Take the Cancer Survivor Survey or speak with a cancer specialist.
Connecticut Cancer Partnership
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