Survivorship is a complicated part of having cancer—because it is different for everyone. Every survivor has individual concerns and challenges. Cancer survivorship begins at diagnosis, includes individuals who have completed their cancer treatment and also includes people who continue to have treatment over a long period, to either reduce risk of reoccurrence or to manage chronic disease. Survivors may feel stress when their frequent visits to their health care team end after completing treatment. The relationships built with the cancer care team can provide a sense of security during treatment, and people miss this source of support. A 2017 study affirms the concerns that some cancer survivors have voiced about which health care providers should be directing their long-term care. A large group of breast cancer survivors were surveyed, and a majority preferred that their PCP’s handle their care after breast cancer treatment. Minority women preferred oncology-directed care versus PCP- directed care for their general preventative care. An effort to clarify provider roles in survivorship care to patients may be effective in improving team-based cancer care and support. At TurningPoint, we provide survivorship care with ongoing education, exercise classes, and continued care with massage, physical therapy, nutritional support and counseling.
Wallner LP, Li Y, Furgal AKC, Friese CR, Hamilton AS, Ward KC, Jagsi R, Katz SJ, Hawley ST; Patient Preferences for Primary Care Provider Roles in Breast Cancer Survivorship Care. J Clin Oncol. 2017 Sep 1. 35(25):2942-2948.
