By: Taraneh Tofighi, ELLICSR summer student
In an effort to support patients in their transition from treatment to follow-up care, researchers at ELLICSR have been working with health care providers and patients at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to develop and roll-out Survivorship Care Plans (SCP).
What is a SCP? The SCP is a consult to share information with patients about:
- Their treatment and future follow-up care,
- How to prepare for the transition from cancer treatment to follow up care.
To date, SCP's have been fully implemented in some disease sites:
- Testicular
- Endometrial
- With ongoing plans to expand to the Colorectal, Kidney and Prostate Cancer sites.
The SCPs are given to patients after treatment is complete, during their regular follow-up appointment. This SCP consult is designed to bring patients and their health care team together, to talk about the treatment they've got, follow-up plans, effects of treatment, and the responsibilities of everyone involved in follow-up care. The SCP includes personalized information such as:
- Diagnosis and treatment summary
- Recommended follow-up visits and cancer screening tests
- Ways to manage persistent effects and monitor for late effects
- How to look for signs of recurrence
- How to optimize health and wellness
- Who to contact for questions and concerns
After a 30 minute care plan consult with a clinical nurse, patients receive an email with the personalized SCP attached and links to various patient education and community support resources. A copy of the SCP is also sent to the patient's family doctor, in order to ensure a smooth transition to follow-up care.
Learn more about the exciting research happening at ELLICSR.
