News
Transitioning Cancer Survivors Away From Oncologic Care
October was Breast Cancer Awareness month and the sudden influx of pink in our homes, on our televisions, in our workplaces, and in local businesses reminded us that we still lose far too many of our loved ones to cancer, not only in this form but in so many others. While the race to discover new diagnostics and treatments remains imperative, there is another pressing issue emerging for patients with cancer.
With advances in early detection, treatment, and oncologic outcomes, many individuals diagnosed with cancer are now living longer and are thus more likely to die from or develop conditions other than cancer. Two thirds of all individuals diagnosed with cancer now live 5 years or more past diagnosis, and the number of such "long-term" survivors in the U.S. will rise from 15.5 million to 20 million by 2026. As such, there is a pressing need to encourage the shift in survivorship care away from oncologists back to primary care physicians and other non-oncologists.
Source: MedPage Today