Abstract
In this report, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) present a one-day symposium that was held at the IOM to further disseminate the conclusions and recommendations of the joint IOM and National Research Council report, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition. The symposium was introduced by Dr. Sandra Horning, President of ASCO; and Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, IOM member and one of the founders of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS). At a plenary session in the morning, four invited experts from academia, the National Quality Forum, and the NCCS gave presentations on: (1) meeting the needs of cancer survivors with an overview of the IOM report’s recommendations; (2) implementing the cancer survivorship care plan and coordinating care; (3) developing guidelines, instituting quality improvement, and strengthening professional education programs; and (4) addressing research gaps. In the afternoon, the following six breakout sessions were held where invited speakers gave presentations and moderators engaged the audience in discussion: (1) implementing the cancer survivorship care plan and coordinating care, moderated by Dr. Sheldon Greenfield, University of California, Irvine; (2) building bridges between oncology and primary care providers, moderated by Dr. Steven Woolf, Virginia Commonwealth University; (3) developing and testing models of survivorship care, moderated by Dr. Patricia Ganz, University of California, Los Angeles; (4) developing guidelines, instituting quality improvement, and strengthening professional education programs, moderated by Dr. John Ayanian, Harvard Medical School; (5) making better use of psychosocial and community support services; addressing
employment and insurance issues, moderated by Ms. Ellen Stovall, NCCS; and (6) investing in survivorship research, moderated by Dr. Patricia Ganz, University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan provided reflections at lunch over the morning’s presentations and discussions. A wrap-up session at the end of the day summarized the issues raised during the breakout sessions.