Abstract
There are over 11 million cancer survivors in the United States, and this number is expected to grow [1]. Survivors are also living longer and whereas most of the cancer survivors are early in their phase of survivorship, about half have survived for at least 10 years. The rates of cancer survivors among those aged 65 and older has grown, and the number of elderly cancer survivors is projected to be quite significant over the next few decades. As such, a growing population of cancer survivors will have cancer and noncancer-related concerns and comorbidities which will require long-term follow-up and management. The medical needs of cancer survivors include cancer-related care, such as surveillance for recurrences, follow-up for complications of treatment, and other cancer screening. Cancer survivors also have noncancer-related health care needs, including disease prevention and chronic disease management. Further, cancer survivors face an array of psychosocial issues which require ongoing monitoring and evaluation, including quality of life, financial burdens of cancer and noncancer illness, and implications of cancer and cancer survivorship on their family. Each of the components of cancer survivorship requires coordination of care between primary care providers, cancer specialists, nursing, and others who may be involved.
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Oeffinger, K.C., Nekhlyudov, L. (2011). Optimizing Health: Primary Care. In: Feuerstein, M., Ganz, P. (eds) Health Services for Cancer Survivors. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1348-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1348-7_9
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