"As a disease of genetic mutations that increase cumulatively with age yet respond to ever improving therapies, cancer challenges health providers in the support they offer to optimise quality of life across the life cycle of this journey with cancer. Beyond coping with the inherent existential threat to life and wellbeing, that the diagnosis brings, anti-cancer treatments bring their own burden with a host of long-term and late onset side-effects. A long-term effect is illustrated by chronic fatigue, whether arising from persisting anaemia, cardiomyopathy, or atrophied muscles. A late effect is illustrated by a secondary cancer, whether resulting from chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Care of the survivor includes supporting lifestyle changes to potentially life-limiting habits like smoking, alcohol excess, obesity or inactivity, and a program of rehabilitation that steadily restores quality of life. Monitoring for early detection of recurrence requires concomitant therapy to control fear of recurrence, optimise mood, promote adjustment and restore value to life. A program of surveillance and health promotion requires education, survivorship care planning and instillation of self-management strategies so that patients, families and providers collaborate in optimising health sensibly, informed by national guidelines, screening, self-management and primary care support. Targeted therapies for cancer bring exciting progress; parallel development of survivorship care is necessary to sustain whole-person and family-centered wellbeing, optimize quality of life and ensure that joy, creativity and fulfilment is maintained.

This book seeks to explicate survivorship care in practical and systematic ways to guide physicians, nurses, general practitioners, psychologists, and all health providers"-- Provided by publisher.