Tools for Primary Care Practices

We wanted to provide some tools to the community physicians and nurses responsible for the primary care of our survivors; information to help them focus their assessment and education on issues related to the cancer and its treatment. We started with two publications. The first was out of MD Anderson and addressed the most frequently encountered health problems reported by survivors [Schultz, P.N., Beck, M.L., Stava, C., Vasillopoulou-Sellin, R. (2003). Health profiles in 5836 long-term cancer survivors. Int J Cancer, 104(4), 488-495]. The top four problems are listed by 14 specific diagnoses. Here's a link to that list. The second document we put together from the ACS guidelines for nutrition and physical activity [American Cancer Society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: Reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. (2006). CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians 56(5), 323-53]. These recommendations can help guide discussions the primary care provider has with the survivor on healthy behaviors that may decrease risk of recurrence and improve overall health. Here's a link to the guidelines. We've also developed tables detailing the late effects of chemotherapy and radiation that we'll post in a separate entry titled Late Effects.