Improving Outcomes for Breast Cancer Survivors

Hershman, Dawn L, Ganz, Patricia A, Dawn L. Hershman, Patricia A. Ganz

With the expectation of prolonged survival in the vast majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer, making initial treatment decisions that minimize or prevent late complications, and maximize the quality as well as quantity of life, is absolutely critical. Unfortunately, such care is not uniformly delivered. Patient, provider, and system barriers contribute to delays in cancer care, lower quality of care, and poorer outcomes in vulnerable populations, including low income, underinsured, and racial/ethnic minority populations. Covering the costs of cancer care is a major concern for many cancer survivors, and as a result, a major challenge will be to provide cost-effective follow-up care by reducing overuse of unnecessary tests and procedures so that access to effective medications can be preserved. One of the recently promoted means of improving the coordination of care for breast cancer survivors has been the use of survivorship care planning, as coordination of care will be absolutely essential to deliver high-quality care. Patient navigation is another approach to help overcome healthcare system barriers and facilitate timely access to quality medical care. Understanding the challenges and opportunities in delivering high-quality cancer care is one of the most critical issues of the day. With the large numbers of breast cancer patients and the tremendous advances in our understanding of the disease and treatments (leading to large numbers of survivors), breast cancer will likely be the focus of new models for the delivery of better and more efficient cancer care.