Cancer survivorship: a challenge for primary care physicians

[摘要] It is very good news that people with cancer are living longer. The proportion of the population who are cancer survivors is on a steady increase with approximately 9.8 million cancer survivors in the US1 and an estimated 2.5% of the Canadian population.2 The most common prevalent cancers are breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. Taking all cancer types, two-thirds of individuals diagnosed today will survive at least beyond 5 years and be long-term survivors. If one considers breast and prostate cancer, over 80% will be long-term survivors.1 Approximately two-thirds of cancer survivors are over the age of 65. For a GP, as many as one in every six adults over the age of 65 years in their practice is likely to be a survivor of adult cancer.3 A survey of cancer survivors in the US has identified a range of physical, psychosocial and economic needs that are unmet, such as management of symptoms related to the primary treatment, depression, fear of recurrence, and problems related to employment and health insurance.4 The healthcare needs of the growing numbers of long-term cancer survivors is viewed as a challenge for cancer care specialists. It is a happy challenge that cancer care is no longer focused exclusively on treatment and palliation, and must now also consider how best to manage survivorship. In my view, however, this challenge rests squarely with GPs.

[学科分类] 卫生学