ACS Releases Long-term Care Guideline for Breast Cancer Survivors

By Stacy Simon The American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have released a new Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline to help breast cancer survivors and their primary care providers better manage their long-term care. The guideline was published December 7, 2015 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a journal of the American Cancer Society. It provides detailed recommendations for how and when to test for new or returning cancers, managing side effects, making healthy lifestyle changes, and coordinating care among primary care providers and specialists. The guideline is the third in a series of cancer survivorship guidelines developed by the American Cancer Society. The first two made recommendations for survivors of prostate cancer and survivors of colorectal cancer. The Society is developing survivorship care guidelines for other cancer types as well, based on the number of survivors and the severity of health problems survivors face. An estimated 3.1 million breast cancer survivors are living today in the United States. The average age at diagnosis is 61 years; therefore it is important that long-term survivorship care is managed in coordination with health problems associated with aging. Testing for cancer The most common treatment for breast cancer is surgery, often in combination with radiation, chemotherapy, and/or targeted therapy. After treatment, the new guidelines recommend that survivors get regular follow-up tests and physical ...
Source: American Cancer Society :: News and Features - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Breast Cancer Coping with Cancer Source Type: news