American society of clinical oncology statement: providing high-quality care for all cancer survivors

This article published in 2013 is written by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).  It discusses the need for a comprehensive care program for cancer survivors.  They also look at how this care program should be available for all survivors irrespective of what cancer treatment they received or what type of cancer they had.  

The number of cancer survivors increases every year.  To date, in the United States, this number is 13 million, and this is expected to reach 18 million by 2022.  The number of survivors is increasing due to the availability of new treatments and earlier detection of primary and metastatic tumours. As a result, future health complications that survivors may experience can vary. For example, patients diagnosed with breast cancer may have had a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy or a round of chemotherapy. These patients may recover with no further recurrences and require little further support.  On the other hand, patients with more advanced cancer may require a mastectomy and removal of lymph nodes which can lead to swelling of the arms due to loss of lymphatic drainage previously supplied by the lymph nodes.  Long term survival of these patients may require a greater amount of healthcare support.  This may include phychologists to provide support due to drastic body image changes, and plastic surgeons who may provide care by breast reconstruction. 

A survey carried out in 2004 of ASCO members showed that three quarters of oncologists thought they should be involved with the ongoing care of survivors due to lasting effects of treatments both physically and mentally.  However, the majority of survivors receive care from primary care providers. 

This article discusses initiatives in the delivery of quality survivorship care by the Cancer Survivor Committee formed by the ASCO in 2011. The committee is focused on providing education along with educational resources and tools for survivors, oncologists and primary care teams. They also want to collect patient data for clinical trials; this type of data can indicate which treatment methods and medications were more effective for each cancer type.  

In addition, this article looks at the need for comprehensive funding for survivors through medical insurance, with appropriate reimbursement to cover all aspects of survivorship care.