Today's Practice: Changing the Business of Medicine | Page 16

P RA CT I CE MA NA GE ME NT

Cancer

Survivorship
By Manpreet Chadha, MD
There are estimated to be 14 million cancer survivors
in the United States based on a report by US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and National
Cancer Institute, and more than 32 million cancer
survivors worldwide. Unfortunately, many of these
cancer survivors experience long-term side effects
including physical, psychosocial and emotional.
Cancer of breast, prostate, colon and rectum, and
melanoma together accounted for more than half of
cancer survivors. More than 46% of the cancer survivors are over 70 years of age. At least 50% of survivors
experience some late effect of cancer treatment. As the
number of cancer survivors continues to grow, it is
important to address the unique needs of these survivors. Many survivors face limited access to healthcare
specialists, a lack of information about promising new
treatments, inadequate or no insurance, difficulty
finding employment, and psychosocial struggles.

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TODAY ’ S P R A C T I C E: C H A N G I N G T H E B U S INES S OF M EDI C I NE