The number of cancer survivors is increasing, worldwide. In Australia, the number of people with a personal history of cancer now exceeds one million (over 4% of the country’s population). Survivorship challenges are similar internationally: growing numbers of survivors, broad range of issues that survivors may experience, and limited health workforce. Current models of care do not adequately i...

The United States devotes substantial resources to understanding the etiologies of cancer and improving treatments, but much less research has focused on the needs of cancer survivors after they have completed active treatment. This article augments findings from the Institute of Medicine about cancer survivorship research and ways to enhance quality of life and quality of care. Studies of canc...

Good afternoon, Senator Brownback and Senator Feinstein. I am Julia Rowland, Ph. D., Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). I am pleased to appear before you today to describe the history of the National Cancer Institute's Office of Cancer Survivorship and to share with you the breadth of activities currently supported by the NCI addressing t...

The term “cancer survivor” has been used to identify different populations affected by cancer [1, 2]. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) suggests “an individual is considered a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis, through the balance of his or her life [3].” This definition, which has been adopted by the National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship, covers f...

This article illustrates the authors' participation in the ONS Foundation-supported Breast Cancer Survivorship (BCS) Quality Measures Set pilot study at Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC) Cancer Center. The data collection, outcomes, and action plans based on results are described. Included are the SOMC distress tool, psychosocial assessment tool, a survivorship care plan, and a clinical vigne...

OBJECTIVE To describe the implementation of key best practice guideline recommendations for posttreatment breast cancer survivorship care by primary care providers (PCPs). DESIGN Descriptive cross-sectional survey. SETTING Southeastern Ontario. PARTICIPANTS Eighty-two PCPs: 62 family physicians (FPs) and 20 primary health care nurse practitioners (PHCNPs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Twenty-o...

BACKGROUND This study describes how cancer survivors' information needs about recurrence, late effects, and family risks of cancer evolve over the course of their survivorship period. METHODS Three annual surveys were conducted from 2006 to 2008 in a cohort of Pennsylvania cancer survivors diagnosed with colon, breast, or prostate cancer in 2005 (round 1, N = 2,013; round 2, N = 1,293; round ...

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes the importance of cancer survivorship and has launched several initiatives focused on cancer care since 2008. Cancer survivors are those who have been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of diagnosis until death. Recognizing the pivotal role that oncology nurses play in helping patients and their families navigate all phases of the cancer continuum...

The number of cancer survivors has steadily climbed to more than 10 million since the 1980s secondary to advances in detection and treatment modalities. This reality, combined with an aging population, has drawn the attention of the medical community to meet the needs of this population. Therefore, cancer care providers are being called to develop survivorship programs for patients with curable...

What is the definition of ‘cancer survivor’ and what is ‘survivorship care’? With the growing numbers of individuals surviving long term and disease free after a cancer diagnosis, a group of individuals in the US came together in 1986 to establish the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS; http://www.canceradvocacy.org), and defined cancer survivors as individuals with cancer from th...