A person is considered to be a cancer survivor from the time of cancer diagnosis until the end of life. There are almost 14.5 million cancer survivors alive in the United States today. That number will grow to almost 19 million by 2024. It is estimated that there will be 3.4 million breast cancer survivors in 2015 in the U.S. — an increase from 2.8 million in 2014. Long-term survival rates after a diagnosis of breast cancer are steadily rising.
This is good news, but clinicians must also recognize that this brings new challenges to the medical community as breast and other cancers become a chronic condition rather than a life-threatening illness.
Follow-up care and psychosocial needs of cancer survivors are often unmet or inappropriately addressed.
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a milestone comprehensive report, "From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition." Of the 10 recommendations regarding cancer survivorship by the IOM, the issues receiving the most attention to date have been the provision of a summary of diagnosis, treatment received (treatment summary), future follow-up care plans, and healthy lifestyle recommendations.
[For more of this story, written by Zeina Nahleh, go to http://www.elpasotimes.com/lif...g-care-for-survivors]
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