A cancer survivor is an individual with cancer of any type, current or past, who is still living.
Many cancer survivors describe the process of living with and beating cancer as a life-changing experience. It is not uncommon for this experience to bring about a personal epiphany, which the person uses as motivation to meet goals of great personal importance, such as climbing a mountain or reconciling with an estranged family member.About 11 million Americans alive today - one in 30 people - are either currently undergoing treatment for cancer or have done so in the past.” [1] Currently nearly 65% of persons diagnosed with cancer have a survival rate of 5 years. [2]
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The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) pioneered the definition of survivor as from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life, a person diagnosed with cancer is a survivor. This expansive definition of "survivor" includes people who are dying from untreatable cancer. NCCS later expanded the definition of survivor even further to include family, friends and caregivers who are affected by the diagnosis in any way.
The National Cancer Institute's Office of Cancer Survivorship uses a variant of this expanded definition[3] while Macmillan Cancer Support defines a cancer survivor as someone who is "living with or beyond cancer", namely someone who:
People who have finished cancer treatment often have psychological and physical medical challenges.[5] These effects can vary from person to person, change over time, and range in intensity from mild and intermittent to fully disabling.
Psychosocial
Some survivors, even if the cancer has been permanently cured,
struggle emotionally from the trauma of having experienced a
life-threatening disease.[6]
Cancer survivors suffer from more psychological distress than those
who have never experienced cancer (5.6% compared to 3.0) [7] Serious
psychosocial distress was seen 40% more among cancer survivors of 5
years or more than in those who have never had cancer. [8] About
10% develop major depressive disorder;
others experience an adjustment disorder.[6]
In young adult cancer survivors, a study published in 2001
ascertained that 20% of 78 survivors met the full clinical
diagnosis of PTSD, while an additional 45% to 95% displayed at
least one symptom of PTSD. [9] Studies
have also proven that survivors of adult cancer are at an increased
risk of Suicidal Idealogy [10], while
numbers ranging from 1-8 [11] to
1-13 [12]of
childhood cancer survivors experience Suicidal Ideology. Issues of
pain and physical ailments have been hypothesized as major
contributing factors in cancer survivors experiencing this Suicidal
Ideology. Other patients have to adjust to the idea that they will
never be cured, or that the cancer could return without warning.
Many patients are anxious that any minor symptom indicates that the cancer has returned,
with as many as 9 in 10 patients fearful that their cancer will
recur. [13]
Physical
If the treatment is lengthy and disruptive, many patients
experience some difficulty in returning to normal daily life.[14] The
energy needed to cope with a rigorous treatment program may have
caused them to disconnect from previous daily patterns, such as
working, normal self-care, and housekeeping. A small number of
patients become dependent on the attention and sympathy that they
received during their treatment and feel neglected when life
returns to normal.
In terms of medical challenges, some survivors experience fatigue, may have long-term side effects from cancer and its treatment, and may need extensive rehabilitation for mobility and function if aggressive surgery was required to remove the cancer. They may experience temporary or persistent chemo brain. Some young survivors lose their ability to have children.
Cancer survivors frequently need appropriate medical monitoring, and some treatments for unrelated diseases in the future may be contraindicated. For example, a patient who has had a significant amount of radiation therapy may not be a good candidate for more radiation treatments in the future. To assist with these needs, "survivor care plans" have been promoted. These are personalized documents that describe the person's diagnosis and treatment in detail, list common known side effects, and specifically outline the steps that the survivor should take in the future, ranging from maintaining a healthy weight to receiving specific medical tests on a stated schedule.[15]
  | Cancer survivorship website - Survivorship - Living With and Beyond Cancer |
| | National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship - NCCS National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship |
| | Information about survivorship - Survivorship | Cancer.Net |
| | Cancerland - Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bait and Switch |
| | "'Survivor plans' a long-term cancer-treatment strategy" - 'Survivor plans' a long-term cancer-treatment strategy - Kalamazoo Gazette Extra - MLive.com |
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