Cancer Survivorship Issues

Thanks to advances in cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and follow-up care, more people than ever before are surviving the disease. In America alone, more than 16.9 million people are alive today after being diagnosed with cancer.

However, surviving cancer can leave a host of problems in its wake. Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment. Cancer survivors are also at greater risk for developing second cancers and other health conditions.

Cancer survivors may face numerous challenges during and after treatment:

• Limited access to cancer specialists and promising new treatments
• Denial of health insurance and life insurance coverage
• Difficulty finding jobs
• Economic burdens due to mounting medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced productivity

Add to that emotional struggles, strains on personal relationships, and the profound fear of cancer recurrence. The effects of cancer don’t simply end when treatment does.

The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation believes that more resources, research, and survivor-friendly legislation are needed to improve the quality of life of cancer survivors – during and after treatment. We urge everyone who participates in National Cancer Survivors Day® celebrations to not only recognize those who are living with a history of cancer but also raise awareness of the hardships cancer survivors face beyond treatment.

Cancer Survivorship Resources

The NCSD Foundation encourages a greater commitment to resolving the issues of cancer survivorship through public education and awareness. We’ve put together this list of resources to help you learn more about the challenges cancer survivors face.

• Survivorship Information from Cancer.Net
• National Cancer Institute’s Survivorship Resources
• National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Helps Guide Life After Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
• Cancer Survival Toolbox
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Section on Cancer Survivorship Care Plans
• Post-Treatment Survivorship Resources from CancerCare
• Cancer Support Community – Living with Cancer
• Coping Magazine’s Cancer Survivors Guide
• Oncolife Survivorship Care Plan
• Triage Cancer – Cancer Finances: A Toolkit for Navigating Finances After Cancer
• Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition
• Patient Advocate Foundation Co-Pay Relief
• American Cancer Society’s Survivorship Care Plans

Cancer Survivorship – The Numbers

• American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures
• ASCO Statement on ACS Facts & Figures 2021 Report
• Cancer Deaths Resulted in More Than 4 Million Potential Years of Life Lost
• Research Continues to Drive Advances Against Cancer
• Cancer Survivors Predicted to Number over 22 Million in U.S. by 2030
• The Costs of Cancer in 2015: 8.7 Million Years of Life and $94 Billion in Lost Earnings
• Annual Out-of-Pocket Expenditures and Financial Hardship Among Cancer Survivors
• CDC: Cancer Death Rates Continue to Decline
• Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer
• Financial Burden of Cancer Care

Source: https://ncsd.org/cancer-survivorship-issues/