Survivorship
With 12 million cancer survivors in the United States and looming shortages of oncologists and PCPs [primary care physicians], the needs of cancer survivors can fall through the cracks,” stated Katherine S. Virgo, PhD, MBA, director of health services research at the American Cancer Society, during a presentation at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
In the first year after a breast cancer diagnosis, women typically experience significant deterioration in their overall quality of life (QOL), but a program that connects new patients with breast cancer survivors following diagnosis seems to halt the decline.
A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of cancer survivors (N = 237) attending an annual cancer survivors’ day organized by a community cancer center.
With 11.7 million cancer survivors in the United
States, the role of navigation in survivorship is
growing. As our population ages, navigators will
need to focus on the specific needs of the older
and elderly patients they navigate through survivorship
care.