Unit 1: Adult cancer survivorship - What we know.

This training is presented in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Nurse in Oncology (CANO) and is part of CANO’s manual Adult cancer survivorship: A self-Learning resource for nurses – 2020.

There is no single definition of cancer survivor or cancer survivorship. While a person is considered a cancer survivor from the point of a cancer diagnosis through the remaining of life, cancer survivorship is often used as an operational definition for the post primary treatment and recovery phase of the cancer continuum. In this training on adult survivorship, Linda Watson and Margaret I Fitch will address the many life after cancer challenges as well as the application in nursing care: support for patients and families in the search for their new normal, models of care, advances in research, etc.

Practice Standard: Decision-Making and Advocacy
• A specialized oncology nurse demonstrates this standard by helping the individual/family to identify and review goals, issues and concerns related to decision making
• Recognizing that your patient and family are in the post-treatment phase of their cancer journey focuses your assessment so that you explore survivorship issues such as transitioning from initial treatment to follow-up, re-entry into the workplace, lingering and long-term treatment side effects, and fear of recurrence. Your assessment will reveal what survivorship issues are important to your patient and family. This information can be shared with the team to shape the individualized care plan.

Teaching and Coaching
• A specialized oncology nurse demonstrates this standard by identifying limitations in their own skill and knowledge base and referring to others when appropriate.
• Learning about survivorship prepares the oncology nurse to care for patients during and after the completion of cancer treatment. By becoming better informed about survivorship and the ways that oncology nurses can support the cancer survivor, you will also be able to identify types of care that are outside your scope and will be empowered to make a referral.