by banned » Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:14 am
Cancer survivors often become 'lost in transition'<br><br>By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY Tue Nov 8, 7:18 AM ET<br><br>A report released Monday says the nation's more than 10 million cancer survivors often find themselves "lost in transition," without adequate help dealing with the medical, social and psychological problems that can follow survivors for decades after their illness.<br>ADVERTISEMENT<br>click here<br><br>"People kind of fall off a cliff," says Ellen Stovall, president and chief executive officer of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and an author of the report. "Your doctor says you're cancer-free, but you're not free of cancer."<br><br>The number of survivors is expected to balloon as the population ages, treatments improve and tests find the disease earlier, says Sheldon Greenfield, an author of the report and director of the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California, Irvine. "The negative consequences of cancer are substantial and unappreciated," Greenfield says.<br><br>People who survive cancer face a number of serious health risks - such as a relapse or second cancer, heart disease, infertility and depression - and frequently grapple with severe debt or job loss, according to the report. It was written by the Institute of Medicine and the<br>National Research Council of the National Academies, private, non-profit groups of experts chartered by Congress to provide science and health policy advice.<br><br>The study calls for doctors, insurance companies and policymakers to recognize cancer survivorship not as the end of the road but as a distinct and vital phase of continuing care. Traditionally, doctors say, they devoted most of their efforts simply to keeping patients alive. Today, with 64% of adults and 80% of children surviving at least five years with the disease, Stovall says, researchers also are trying to improve patients' quality of life. (Related story: Care playing catch-up)<br><br>Cancer survivors should get a detailed summary of their treatments, including the dates, doses and types of therapies, Greenfield says. Patients also need a follow-up plan with instructions about screenings and suggestions for healthy ways of living.<br><br>Today, the report finds, many survivors lack critical information:<br><br>• Up to 40% of female Hodgkin's disease survivors aren't aware they are at high risk for breast cancer.<br><br>• Only 22% of colorectal cancer survivors know how to tell whether their disease has returned.<br><br>• Only half of cancer patients of childbearing age receive information about preserving their fertility.<br><br>Cancer specialists need to develop clear standards for giving survivors the care they need, says Patricia Ganz, an author of the report. Specialists also need to share those guidelines with community doctors, who treat most survivors. Ganz, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine, says insurance companies should cover medical visits in which doctors and patients chart a road map for the future.<br><br>Says Ganz: "It's high-touch, not necessarily high-tech." <p></p><i></i>
