Surviving Cancer

Cancer Survivorship & Support 

There are millions of people in the United States who are cancer survivors. Many say that they felt they had lots of support during their treatment, but it was difficult to make a transition to a new way of life. It is like entering a whole new world making adjustments to new feelings, new problems and different ways of looking at the world.

Survivorship Support Services

We are committed to offering the best available survivorship services. We are proud of our affiliation with the American Cancer Society (ACS) which partners with us to provide additional resources to cancer patients. For cancer patients going through treatment, the ACS sponsors the Ride to Recovery Program providing free rides to and from cancer treatments.

• Patient Navigation Program - Their role is to listen and address the patient’s and caregiver’s non-medical needs such as transportation and financial assistance, among others. They work hard to identify and provide available resources to meet needs during a difficult time and work closely with our Lung Cancer Nurse Navigator.
• Cancer Rehabilitation Program - our patients receive comprehensive cancer rehabilitation treatment to improve the symptoms affecting your daily function and quality of life

What are the Stages of Cancer Survivorship?

Cancer survivorship has three distinct phases: living through, with and beyond cancer.

Living with cancer refers to the experience of receiving a cancer diagnosis and any treatment that may follow. During this time:

• Patients will undergo treatment and may be asked to join a clinical trial to study new cancer therapies.
• Patients and their caregivers may be offered services to help cope with emotional, psychological and financial concerns.

Living through cancer is the period following treatment in which the risk of cancer recurring is relatively high. Many patients are relieved that treatment is over, but anxious about no longer seeing their cancer doctor on a regular basis. During this stage:

• Patients typically see their cancer doctor two to four times a year depending on their circumstances.

Living beyond cancer refers to post-treatment and long-term survivorship. While two out of three survivors say their lives return to normal, one-third report continuing physical, psychosocial or financial consequences. During this stage:

• Most survivors go back to the care of their primary physician.
• Ideally, survivors will have developed a long-term health care plan with their cancer doctor to be implemented by their primary physician.