Elephants and Tea - September 2019 - 7

photo: istock.com, Ekaterina79

CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU THINK OF CHILDHOOD
CANCER AND SURVIVORSHIP CARE? Ideally it might conjure up

images of a team of medical professionals working as a finely tuned pit crew
to meet you where you're at physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually
after you achieve survivorship status. For most cancer survivors to transition
to "survivorship" means they are two to three years off treatment and require
ongoing surveillance; or as some individuals put it "cancer reconnaissance."
This pit crew would work together in an environment that is geared toward
meeting your needs, it would be comfortable, informative and your team
would communicate with each other and most importantly with you. The
visits would, in an ideal world, offer comprehensive care. Your pit crew could
be made up of the following dream team members; a survivorship physician,
nurse practitioner, social worker, dietitian, neurologist, endocrinologist,
psychologist, fertility /reproduction specialist, physical therapist, child life
specialist and chaplain.
Now imagine, after your annual "tune-up," when you're ready to leave
this super supportive place you actually get to take a summary of your
visit home with you. This is mind blowing! You actually understand what
your exposure risks are (referring to how much cumulative [total dose]
chemotherapy/radiation you had during therapy), and you know what you
should be looking for moving forward. While we are at it, how about this:
the team shares your survivorship visit information with your primary
care physician (after you sign a release of information allowing them to do
so, of course!) and any other physicians or providers on your team. This
way everyone caring for you has the same information from preventative
health and maintenance to surveillance.

Survivorship

Got a
Pit Crew?

CHILDHOOD CANCER
SURVIVORS START
YOUR ENGINES!

This article is based on a panel discussion: Conversation about
Childhood Cancer and Survivorship at the Coalition against
Childhood Cancer (CAC2) Annual Summit at Nationwide
Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio on June 18-20, 2019.

ELEPHANTSANDTEA.COM
SEPTEMBER 2019

7
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Elephants and Tea - September 2019

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