Advertisement

Advertisement

survivorship

Infection-Associated Late Mortality in Childhood Cancer Survivors Undergoing Splenectomy or Splenic Radiation

In a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Weil et al found that splenectomy and splenic radiation significantly increased the risk of infection-related late mortality among 5-year survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details The study...

issues in oncology
survivorship

ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline Update: Fertility Preservation in Patients With Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kutluk Oktay, MD, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline update on fertility preservation in adults and children with cancer. The update was informed by an update panel systematic...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Wendy S. Harpham, MD, FACP, Writes Gift Book to Change the Conversation About Hope for Cancer Survivors

Recently, Curant House announced the publication of Healing Hope: Through and Beyond Cancer by Wendy S. Harpham, MD, FACP, a physician-survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and award-winning thought leader in survivorship. In this book (her eighth), Dr. Harpham presents 50 illness-related aphorisms in...

Survivorship
Issues in Oncology

Meeting the Challenges of Providing Long-Term Psychosocial Care for Cancer Survivors

Focusing on the first year after a cancer diagnosis is necessary, but not sufficient, for delivering care to cancer survivors, according to Deborah Mayer, PhD, RN, Director of Cancer Survivorship at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill....

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Efforts to Make Tobacco Cessation in Cancer Survivors Standard Practice

It is well established that smoking increases the risk for developing cancer, but when it comes to tobacco cessation in the cancer survivor population, should oncologists be stepping in, and what resources should they be using? Graham W. Warren, MD, PhD, posed these questions to the audience at the ...

Solid Tumors
Breast Cancer
Supportive Care
Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Education Plus Exercise Improves Arm Mobility After Lymph Node Dissection in Women With Breast Cancer

In breast cancer survivors after lymph node dissection, a combined education and exercise intervention resulted in patients regaining full range of motion in both arms sooner than those who received education alone, according to follow-up from a phase III clinical trial reported by Electra D....

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship
Head and Neck Cancer

Elevated Suicide Risk Among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Demands More Integrated Psychosocial Care

In general, the risk of suicide among cancer survivors is about 50% higher than in the general population, but this risk is especially elevated among survivors of head and neck cancer, according to research presented by Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, BDS, MPH, CHES, of the Department of...

Breast Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Survivorship

Expert Point of View: Timothy Gilligan, MD, MSc

“IN THE PAST, patients were often told to rest and reduce their physical activity during treatment, but we now know that exercise is both safe and beneficial,” said Timothy Gilligan, MD, MSc, moderator of a presscast where these results were presented prior to the Cancer Survivorship Symposium....

Breast Cancer
Colorectal Cancer
Survivorship

Four Years Posttreatment, Exercise Improves Physical Activity Levels, Reduces Fatigue in Patients With Breast and Colon Cancers

IN PATIENTS WITH breast and colon cancers, a physical exercise intervention conducted during adjuvant chemotherapy improved total physical activity levels 4 years after treatment, with a trend toward less fatigue, according to a follow-up study from the randomized multicenter PACT study, presented...

Survivorship

EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Julia Rowland, PhD

“THE GOOD NEWS is cancer survivors are living longer. The bad news is they’re living long enough to experience the late consequences of curative treatment,” said Julia Rowland, PhD, formerly of the National Cancer Institute and now with Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Washington, DC, at the ...

Colorectal Cancer
Survivorship

Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Increased Among Colorectal Cancer Survivors

COMPARED TO the general population, the risk of cardiovascular disease among colorectal cancer survivors was significantly increased more than 10 years after their cancer diagnosis, according to research presented by David Baraghoshi, MSTAT candidate, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the...

Solid Tumors
Colorectal Cancer
Supportive Care
Pain Management
Palliative Care
Survivorship
Issues in Oncology

Support, Inform Patients With ASCO Resources

Stock your practice with ASCO resources for your patients. Visit ASCO’s patient information website, Cancer.Net, for a newly updated comprehensive guide to colorectal cancer at cancer.net/colorectal and a shorter, one-page colorectal cancer fact sheet. Copies can be purchased from the ASCO...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Impact of Lifestyle Choices on Outcomes in Survivors of Gastrointestinal Cancers

Physical inactivity among adult survivors of gastrointestinal cancers was tied to poor health-related quality of life, according to researchers at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Annual Meeting.1 Also, physical inactivity (Chi-square = 5.605, P = .018) and alcohol use (Chi-square ...

survivorship

Many AYA Cancer Survivors Have More Social Connections Than Peers With No History of Cancer

Survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer often have stronger social networks than their peers with no cancer history, according to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital researchers, who hope to translate that support into better health outcomes for the nation’s...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Seeking Beauty From the Inside Out After Cancer Treatment

  BOOKMARK Title: Autobiography of a FaceAuthor: Lucy GrealyPublisher: Houghton Mifflin HarcourtOriginal Publication Date: June 1994Price: $14.95, paperback; 256 pages We live in a celebrity-obsessed society that is consumed by images of what we perceive as ideal beauty. Numerous studies show that ...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

It Starts With a Discussion: ASCO Guideline on Interventions to Address Sexual Problems in People With Cancer

Dr. Katz is a certified sexuality counselor at CancerCare Manitoba, Canada. SEXUALITY AND SEXUAL functioning are important to cancer survivors, and considering the significant number of survivors, this is an issue that should not be ignored. In a survey of cancer survivors who had completed...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Interventions to Address Sexual Problems in People With Cancer: ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline Adaptation of CCO Guideline

AS REPORTED in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jeanne Carter, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline adaptation of the Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) guideline on interventions to address sexual problems in people with cancer.1 ...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors Often Struggle With Reproductive and Sexual Health Concerns

FOR MANY adolescents and young adults (AYAs), the most distressing and troubling phase of the cancer continuum that began with diagnosis is survivorship, and among the toughest challenges are those involving sexual health and reproduction, Jessica Gorman, PhD, MPH, stated at the 11th Annual...

breast cancer
survivorship
symptom management

Internet-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Breast Cancer Survivors

In a Danish study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zachariae et al found that an Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention improved insomnia among breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 255 patients from a national sample of Danish breast...

colorectal cancer
survivorship
symptom management

David Baraghoshi, on Colorectal Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

David Baraghoshi, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, discusses an assessment of cardiovascular risk more than 10 years after diagnosis for colorectal cancer survivors compared with a cancer-free general population cohort (Abstract 113).

survivorship
lymphoma

Flora E. van Leeuwen, PhD, on Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment: Toxicities in Female Survivors

Flora E. van Leeuwen, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses cardiovascular disease risk after treatment-induced primary ovarian insufficiency in female survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (Abstract 114).

survivorship

Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, on The New Survivorship Standard: Expert Perspective

Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, of Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the Commission on Cancer’s efforts to promote robust survivorship care and how its new recommendations will affect clinical practice and patients.

supportive care
survivorship

Christopher J. Recklitis, PhD, MPH, on Sexual Aids and Supportive Care: Study Findings

Christopher J. Recklitis, PhD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses a study investigating the availability of supportive care sexual aids and resources for cancer survivors at U.S. cancer centers (Abstract 134).

survivorship

Christopher J. Recklitis, PhD, MPH, on Mental Health in Cancer Survivors

Christopher J. Recklitis, PhD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, summarizes two key papers on mental health: suicide risk among survivors of head and neck cancer vs other types of cancer; and the fear of cancer recurrence—its associations with mental health status and individual characteristics among cancer survivors (Abstract 146).

breast cancer
survivorship

Electra D. Paskett, PhD, on Breast Cancer and Arm Mobility: Clinical Trial Results

Electra D. Paskett, PhD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses study findings on whether exercise helps women with breast cancer regain arm mobility after lymph node surgery (Abstract 123).

survivorship

Paul B. Jacobsen, PhD, on The Impact of Survivorship Care Plans: Expert Perspective

Paul B. Jacobsen, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, discusses his evaluation of whether survivorship care plans have a positive impact on health outcomes and health-care delivery for cancer survivors, in both the long and short term (Abstract 2).

geriatric oncology
survivorship

Arti Hurria, MD, on Survivorship Care for the Aging Population

Arti Hurria, MD, of the City of Hope, discusses ways to incorporate the principles of geriatrics into oncology care and offer targeted interventions for older survivors.

survivorship

Carrie R. Howell, PhD, on Reducing Risks for Childhood Cancer Survivors: Trial Results

Carrie R. Howell, PhD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, discusses study findings on a web-based exercise intervention for adolescent survivors, who are at increased risk for obesity and metabolic syndrome. The program was designed to improve fitness, cognition, and quality of life (Abstract 102).

survivorship

Patricia A. Ganz, MD, on Progress in Cancer Survivorship Care

Patricia A. Ganz, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and this year’s recipient of the Ellen Stovall Award for Advancement of Cancer Survivorship Care, discusses her 30-year-long career researching and advocating for survivors and quality care.

survivorship

Genevieve Chaput, MD, on Teaching Primary Care Providers About Survivorship

Genevieve Chaput, MD, of McGill University Health Centre, discusses an accredited workshop that increased primary care providers’ confidence and knowledge about cancer survivorship, which is key to supporting their growing role in post-treatment care (Abstract 20).

survivorship

Lynda M. Beaupin, MD, on Adhering to Follow-up Care: An Analysis

Lynda M. Beaupin, MD, of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, discusses her findings on the factors contributing to adolescent and young adult cancer survivors not seeking follow-up care (Abstract 29).

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

NCCN Summit Explores Survivorship Issues for Patients and Clinicians

When Yelak Biru was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1995, he and his physicians had one main posttreatment goal: to detect and treat any relapse early and to prolong survival as long as possible with the limited drugs available. Then, in the early 2000s, came newer treatments. Myeloma survival...

survivorship

2018 SURVIVORSHIP: Many Young Adult Cancer Survivors Forgo Follow-up Care After Cancer Treatment Ends

Despite survivorship guidelines from ASCO and other organizations regarding follow-up care after cancer treatment ends, follow-up care is generally lacking for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. Since AYA cancer survivors are at an increased risk for late effects from their cancer...

survivorship

2018 SURVIVORSHIP: Therapeutic Sexual Aids Frequently Not Available for Cancer Survivors Who Need Them

Cancer care guidelines recommend that cancer survivors who experience sexual dysfunction after cancer treatment use therapeutic aids to help improve their sexual health. However, a new study of 25 leading cancer centers found that 87% of the centers reported having no sexual aids available on site...

breast cancer
survivorship

2018 SURVIVORSHIP: Exercise Speeds Improvement in Arm Mobility After Surgery for Breast Cancer

New findings from a clinical trial of women with breast cancer suggest that guided exercise with a physical therapist after lymph node dissection helps women regain their range of arm motion more quickly. These findings will be presented by Paskett et al at the upcoming 2018 Cancer Survivorship...

breast cancer
colorectal cancer
survivorship

2018 SURVIVORSHIP: Exercising During Chemotherapy for Breast or Colon Cancer Has Long-Term Benefits

A follow-up study to a randomized clinical trial reveals that exercising during adjuvant chemotherapy helps people engage in more physical activity years later. Four years later, people with breast or colon cancer who had participated in an 18-week exercise program while receiving chemotherapy...

survivorship

2018 SURVIVORSHIP: Web-Based Interventions Help Adolescents Stay Physically Active After Cancer Treatment

Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for obesity and metabolic syndrome, which can lead to other serious health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. However, engaging in regular physical activity may help remediate these health issues in young survivors. A...

breast cancer
survivorship

Effects of Group Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Esplen et al found that a group psychosocial intervention was effective in improving body image concerns and breast cancer–related quality of life among breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 194 breast cancer survivors...

Survivorship

Cancer Statistics, 2018: U.S. Cancer Mortality Continues Decades-Long Drop

THE CANCER death rate dropped 1.7% from 2014 to 2015, continuing a drop that began in 1991 and has reached 26%, resulting in nearly 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths during that time.  The data are reported in “Cancer Statistics, 2018,” the American Cancer Society’s comprehensive annual report on...

Issues in Oncology
Survivorship

Preserving Sexual Function in Women Treated for Cancer

“There is huge potential to positively influence a patient’s experience and outcomes” by addressing concerns about sexual function after cancer treatment early in the course of treatment planning, Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MA, stated in her keynote address at the 11th Annual Oncofertility...

Colorectal Cancer
Survivorship

Fiber Is Only One Component in Improving Outcomes in Cancer Survivors

SINCE 2003, every iteration of the American Cancer Society’s Nutrition Guidelines for Cancer Survivors has advocated for a plant-based diet with ample quantities of whole grains, as well as vegetables and fruits.1-3 This recommendation has been based primarily on data that such foods play in...

survivorship

Prevalence of Prior Cancer in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Cancer

In a study using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data reported in JAMA Oncology, Murphy et al found that among persons newly diagnosed with cancer, 25% of those aged ≥ 65 years and 11% of those aged < 65 years had a history of a prior primary cancer. Prevalence of Prior...

issues in oncology
survivorship

Many Cancer Survivors Live With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A recent study showed approximately one-fifth of patients with cancer experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) several months after diagnosis, and many of these patients continued to live with PTSD years later. Published by Chan et al in Cancer, the findings highlight the need for early...

survivorship

Are Thyroid Cancer Survivors at Increased Risk for Aging-Related Diseases?

A study by Blackburn et al investigating the risks of aging-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes among thyroid cancer survivors has found that although younger and older survivors had an increased risk for these diseases, those younger than age 40 had a higher risk for hypertension,...

survivorship

Predictive Model for Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke in Childhood Cancer Survivors

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chow et al have developed a model that distinguishes risk groups for ischemic heart disease and stroke in 5-year survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details The study included data from 13,060 participants in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study...

survivorship

Novel Psychosocial Intervention for Fear of Cancer Recurrence

An Australian trial has shown that a novel theoretically/empirically based intervention (ConquerFear) reduced the fear of cancer recurrence compared with relaxation therapy among patients treated for curable cancers. These results were reported by Butow et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology....

Survivorship
Lymphoma

Life After Treatment: Managing Lymphoma Survivors

According to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have 5-year survival rates of 86% and 71%, respectively.1 Although the increased number of survivors is welcome proof of the success of new treatment regimens, it also ...

survivorship

New Persistent Opioid Use After Curative-Intent Cancer Surgery

A study reported by Lee et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates that approximately 10% of patients undergoing curative-intent surgery for cancer become new persistent opioid users. Study Details The study involved data from 68,463 patients from a national data set of insurance claims...

survivorship

Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer Prone to ‘Job Lock’ due to Worries About Losing Health Insurance

The results of a national cancer survey reveal a significant number of childhood cancer survivors are worried about keeping their health insurance, to the point of letting it affect their career decisions. The findings were published by Kirchhoff et al in JAMA Oncology. Anne Kirchhoff, PhD,...

cns cancers
survivorship

Predicting Risk of Subsequent CNS Tumors in Survivors of Childhood Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al have developed a model for predicting risk of subsequent central nervous system (CNS) tumors in survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details In the study, matched childhood cancer survivors with (n = 82) and without (n = 228) subsequent...

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement