Survivorship: Overview

Life after cancer can be anything but ordinary.  Survivorship is a broad term that includes not only people who have been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life, but also the friends and family members of people who have been diagnosed with cancer.  Following the treatment period, during which cancer patients have an abundance of support and helpful information, survivors may feel at a loss for this support, with many unanswered questions. It is important that survivors know it takes time to recover and readjust to life.  It may not be possible to immediately return to their previous version of "normal".  They may need to take some time to determine what is normal for them at the current time. 

Click here to watch the full interview with Dr. Michael Burke.

Quality of life is usually measured with a survey taken by a person about their general situation and feelings. If a cancer patient or survivor is not happy with their condition, they are said to have a low quality of life. This may lead the patient's doctors to change the treatment or follow up program in order to make the patient feel better. Having a high Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is important to cancer patients and survivors because they tend to receive more consistent care and follow through with the suggested treatments. Some recent studies have shown that patients with a higher quality of life may live longer. ^{(1) (2)}

Because there are so many things that can decrease quality of life, doctors are still working on the best ways to improve this important aspect of cancer care. ^{(1) (3)} The topics on the left contain information about some of the different issues related to survivorship and quality of life.

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Learn more about survivorship from the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

1. Roila F, Cortesi E. Quality of life as a primary end point in oncology. Ann Oncol 2001 12(Suppl 3): S3S6 [PUBMED]
2. Moussas B. Quality of life in oncology trials: A clinical guide. Semin Radiat Oncol 2003; 13: 235247 [PUBMED]
3. Constantini M, Musso M, Viterbori P, et al. Detecting psychological distress in cancer patients: Validity of the Italian version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Support Care Cancer 1999; 7: 121127 [PUBMED]