Eight years ago, a survey of the preferences of Dutch patients with cancer for health care found that while gender was one aspect influencing how men and women approach cancer care, it was the most important, with men, generally, regarding most care aspects as less important than women. The study concluded that to achieve optimal cancer care, physicians should tailor their communication, manner and extent of support, and consultation length, among other facets of care, based on a patient’s sex.¹

Thirteen years ago, Stephanie Koraleski, PhD, an oncology psychologist, and Kay Ryan, PhD, RN, a cardiac nurse and breast cancer survivor, in Omaha, brought together colleagues in the fields of clinical research, nursing, nutrition, mental health, physical therapy, pharmacy, and spirituality to build a cancer rehabilitation program that incorporated a holistic approach to survivorship to fill a care gap left after treatment ends.

There is a lot of breast cancer in my family history. My mother was diagnosed with the disease at 44, and my paternal grandmother died of breast cancer when she was just 33, so I’ve always been diligent about performing breast self-exams— often weekly—to ensure that if I did get breast cancer, it would be caught at an early, curable stage. I’ve also always lived a healthy lifestyle to reduce my risk of cancer and other diseases. A never-smoker and drinker, I made sure to hit the gym at least 5 days a week to retain my physical stamina and normal weight. I’m also someone who pays attention to the rhythms of her body, so, 4 years ago, when I started feeling bloated and fatigued, I pestered my general practitioner to perform some tests to see what might be wrong.

On May 30, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 2017.¹ This law creates an additional and alternative pathway for patients with a “life-threatening disease or condition” to access investigational medicines outside the clinical trial system. Since there are more than 1,100 cancer medicines currently under investigation, this law will materially impact oncology patients and clinicians.² Specifically, because of the sense of hope and expectation that the new law has created, increasing numbers of patients with cancer will be asking their oncologists questions about the Right to Try Act.³