Cancer Survivorship (The James)

Cancer Survivorship (The James)

 

People with a history of cancer are living longer due to early diagnosis and better treatments. The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 21.7 million cancer survivors by 2029 and 26.1 million survivors by 2040.

Cancer survivorship begins the day of your diagnosis and continues throughout your lifetime. Survivorship care provides support for the physical, emotional, and practical issues (job, insurance, financial) of living with cancer. Our goal at The James Cancer Hospital is to help you manage these issues to optimize your quality of life, longevity and general wellbeing.

During your cancer journey, you may want to see a health care specialist to help you with physical, emotional and practical issues. Services available at The James Cancer Supportive Care Clinic include:

  • Adolescent and Young Adult social worker
  • Supportive counseling (psychology, social work, medicine management)
  • Expressive arts programs (art therapy, music therapy)
  • Cancer risk assessment (genetics)
  • Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (therapy to help restore movement & function)
  • Fertility preservation
  • Integrative Medicine (fitness, yoga, massage therapy, acupuncture)
  • Nutrition counseling
  • Oncology Rehabilitation (physical therapy, occupational therapy)
  • Sexual health
  • Spiritual counseling (chaplain/pastoral care)
  • Support groups and educational classes

 

Survivorship Care Plan

When you are told that you have cancer, your health care team will share a lot of information with you. It may be hard to remember all the details about your cancer diagnosis, cancer treatments and the side effects that may result from your treatment. You may also have questions after your treatment ends about your follow-up care, who to call about a problem and how to manage changes caused by your cancer treatment.

To help you understand your cancer treatment and what you may need as a survivor, you will be given a care plan when your treatment is over. This care plan may include:

  • The treatments and drugs you were given for your cancer
  • A list of the members of your health care team involved in your care
  • How often you need to make an appointment with your cancer doctor
  • The name of follow-up tests that you will need and how often the test should be done
  • What doctor or other health care professional should you see for follow-up care
  • Information about the chance of your cancer returning or being diagnosed with another type of cancer
  • Signs or symptoms to watch for and who you should call if you see any changes
  • Common long-term side effects that may result from your treatment
  • How to maintain your health and well-being
  • Support groups and survivorship programs
  • Information about employment and health insurance

Survivorship care is an important part of your cancer journey. We are here to provide you with information, support and resources to meet your unique needs as a survivor.

For more information on Cancer Survivorship, we encourage you to visit our video library at http://cancer.osu.edu/patientedvideos.

 

 

© January 5, 2023. The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

This handout is for informational purposes only. Talk with your doctor or health care team if you have any questions about your care.