There is a lack of guidelines when it comes to standard of care for adult cancer survivors, and it is time to start thinking about establishing such guidelines, according to nurse practitioner Richard Boyajian, who is the clinical director of adult survivorship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. He said establishing appropriate guidelines could potentially reduce morbidity and mortality.

In 2005, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published the report From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition that recognized survivorship as a distinct phase of the cancer care trajectory, beginning with diagnosis and extending beyond active cancer treatment through follow-up and long-term survival.¹ The report defined optimal care after cancer treatment and offered models and strategies for meeting the long-term needs of Read More ›

Each year, adult cancer survivors spend, on average, $4000 to $5000 more on total medical expenditures than people who have never had cancer, according to a study of survivors younger than 65 years. “These ongoing expenditures signal what oncology nurses already know…when people finish their treatment for cancer, that is not necessarily the end of it. They require ongoing support. There’s a need for heightened surveillance that extends for the rest of their lives. Read More ›

Although breastfeeding may be impaired in some survivors of childhood cancers as a result of treatments, such women who are able to successfully breastfeed should do so, because of the protective effects it can impart,¹ according to research led by Susan W. Ogg, RN, MSN, a re search nurse in the Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. “Some nurses work with women and assess their lactation potential throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum,” Ogg said. Read More ›