What Is Quality Health Care for Cancer Survivors?

The term “cancer survivor” has been used to identify different populations affected by cancer [1, 2]. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) suggests “an individual is considered a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis, through the balance of his or her life [3].” This definition, which has been adopted by the National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship, covers family members, friends, and caregivers, who are also affected by the survivorship experience. It also acknowledges that cancer affects people for the rest of their lives. Traditionally, to “survive cancer” has meant to be cured of or to appear to be free from cancer. Measures such as 5-year disease-free (or overall) survival [2] have been deployed to mark out the survivor period. More recently, the meaning of “cancer survivorship” has been broadened to signify the period following potentially curative treatments; notably, the influential Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, focuses on this period [4]. This definition does not explicitly include family and caregivers, so we must remember that cancer also affects those close to the person with cancer. We must also remember that the survivor experience is a continuum, which includes diagnosis and treatment, and may also include recurrence, living with advanced cancer, and death.