Transitioning to Breast Cancer Survivorship: Perspectives of Patients, Cancer Specialists, and Primary Care Providers

Abstract

Breast cancer patients may experience difficulties transitioning to survivorship, including ongoing psychosocial issues. African-American patients may face additional and unique barriers to successful survivorship. Oncology specialists may have concerns about discharging cherished patients. These findings suggest a psychological component that may influence the use of written survivorship care plans. PCPs may need additional training and greater access to specialists in order to care for survivors.

Breast Cancer Survivorship and South Asian Women: Understanding about the Follow-Up Care Plan and Perspectives and Preferences for Information Post Treatment

“…Although there is movement toward providing customized care plans for bcss, little information is available to guide health care providers on how to manage this task for heterogeneous populations 5,27 . Challenges with respect to the making of recommendations for survivorship care planning, limited health care resources, and a large bcs population necessitate an efficient means of assessing individual needs and preferences for different ages and different groups of survivors 6,16 .…”

“…Cancer survivorship, most commonly defined as the period after primary adjuvant treatment has ended and before the onset of advanced disease, has become recognized as a distinct phase of the cancer trajectory with its own unique issues for the cancer survivor [3][4][5]29 . However, concern remains about what is done and said during treatment that might set the stage for survivorship.…”

“…Currently, approximately 825,000 cancer survivors live in Canada (2.5% of the population) 1 , and more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors (bcss), in the United States 2 . Because of the growing recognition of cancer survivorship as a distinct phase in the cancer trajectory, development of efficient and effective strategies or care plans for the organized transitioning of patients from active treatment at a specialized cancer centre to post-treatment care in the community is now being seen as critical to the overall health and well-being of patients [3][4][5][6][7][8] .…”

Survivorship Care Plans for People with Colorectal Cancer: Do They Reflect the Research Evidence?

“…Plans can also be shared with the primary care provider to promote coordinated ongoing care. The scp seems to reduce anxiety on the part of survivors about what will happen to them after treatment completion; it also can improve communication between a survivor's cancer care providers and primary care providers 4,5 .…”

Moving Forward: A Qualitative Research Inquiry to Inform the Development of a Resource Pack for Women Following Primary Breast Cancer Treatment

“…This period is particularly important as it is a time when regular interaction with healthcare professionals diminishes and individuals may feel 'abandoned' by the healthcare system (Cimprich et al, 2005;Allen, Savadatti, & Levy, 2009;Devane, 2009). A small number of studies have explored the transition period or 're-entry' phase from end of active treatment for breast cancer to life post-treatment (Cimprich et al, 2005;Mallinger, Griggs, & Shields, 2006;Cappiello et al, 2007;Griggs et al, 2007;Meneses et al, 2007;Oxlad, Wade, Hallsworth, & Koczwara, 2008;Allen et al, 2009;Kantsiper et al, 2009). Cimprich et al (2005) suggest that whilst much research has focused on diagnosis, treatment and five-year survivorship (long-term), little attention has been paid to the period immediately following treatment completion.…”