Survivorship Care Plans for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

The transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor can be a difficult and mysterious process. One widely endorsed effort to ease the passage has been the creation and use of a written survivorship care plan (SCP) for each person completing cancer treatment. As first articulated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition,1 the SCP would be a robust and vital document created to inform patients, physicians, and the rest of the survivorship care team of the long-term effects of cancer and its treatment, to identify psychosocial support resources in their communities, and to provide guidance on follow-up care, prevention, and health maintenance.2