Development of a Survivorship Program

Abstract

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 disease. Some of the prominent organizations supporting this movement for focused survivorship care include the Institute of Medicine, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, LiveStrong™, and the Oncology Nursing Society. This article provides the necessary steps for the development and implementation of an institution-specific survivorship program to fulfill the new standards for survivorship care.

Integrated Care Planning for Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review

“…An assessment of patient needs was observed across the various types of integrated care plans. Within survivorship care plans, psychosocial distress [ 70 ] and quality of life [ 68 69 ] were commonly assessed to help identify psychosocial needs [ 60 ] and connect patient’s with appropriate providers, involving either hospital and/or community-based follow-up to obtain nutritional advice, spiritual care and financial counseling [ 70 84 ]. Other types of patient assessments include evaluation by a dietician/nutritionist [ 50 52 84 ] or speech pathologist (following surgical intervention) [ 52 ], or an evaluation of symptoms following treatment or at the end-of-life [ 50 63 85 ].…”

“…Provider involvement in plan development and buy-in was a crucial facilitator [ 57 84 90 91 94 ], by way of helping to foster a sense of ownership and accountability over the integrated care plan’s value [ 57 ]. Engaging a diverse range of providers during the development phase may help ensure that the plan is customized to existing workflows and variations in scope of practice across provider disciplines, and supports greater transparency in role clarity and accountability between providers.…”

Outcomes of Cancer Survivorship Care Provided by Advanced Practice RNs Compared to Other Models of Care: A Systematic Review

“…Survivorship care features completion and discussion of an SCP, education about late effects and symptoms of recurrence, and surveillance (including history taking and physical examination at specific intervals); such care is commonly reported to be resource-intensive for oncology providers, regardless of the model of care being used. When the APRN provides survivorship surveillance, services can be billed for reimbursement and physicians can be freed to evaluate additional newly diagnosed patients (Downs-Holmes, Dracon, Svarovsky, & Sustin, 2014). The use of APRNs can also address the growing demand for oncology care and has been shown to increase oncology practice productivity while improving patient satisfaction (Towle et al, 2011).…”

Concept analysis of cancer survivorship and contributions to oncological nursing

“…Conversely, the possibility of exploring integral care and helping cancer survivors (CSrs) return to their social context is significant when CS is considered as part of cancer care and where ample oncological nursing exists (Oliveira, Araujo, Conceição, & Zago, 2016). Nurses are exceptionally well positioned to play a central role in this area to ensure a suitable and quality future life for CSrs and their family members (Downs-Holmes, Dracon, Svarovsky, & Sustin, 2014;Rowland, 2008a).…”