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Adult Cancer Survivorship Clinic
Massey now offers an innovative, multidisciplinary Survivorship Clinic to help manage the unique health care needs of the cancer survivor. The goals are to help:
- Improve the quality of life of survivors of adult cancer.
- Survivors with the physical, psychological, social, spiritual and financial issues faced throughout the remaining years of their lives.
Cancer survivors have many health-related and nonhealth-related issues from their disease. More than half have secondary health problems related to their cancers, up to 40 percent report financial problems and nearly one-third face challenges with employment. Many survivors also are dealing with depression and stress to their relationships. Only recently have researchers been able to study long-term survivorship and start to understand the implications that cancer treatment has on survivors’ lives after cancer. In light of this, the clinic’s objectives are to:
- Provide surveillance and monitoring of chronic and late effects of treatment.
- Promote chronic disease self-management and prevention and behavioral lifestyle changes.
- Provide access to psychosocial-spiritual support.
- Conduct research that will help improve quality of life.
- Bridge communication between cancer specialists and primary care providers.
Eligibility and service overview
One of the key objectives of the clinic is to translate these research findings into new care pathways for patients who are five years or more post-treatment. The clinic is currently accepting five-year breast cancer survivors. The reasons for our initial focus on breast cancer are the large population of patients and the generally accepted guidelines for surveillance. Our eligibility criteria are:
- Breast cancer survivors of five years or longer.
- No active disease (patients with metastatic disease are not eligible).
- Medical records must be made available to clinic team.
- Complete questionnaire prior to clinic visit.
Services provided include:
- Establishment of survivorship care plan.
- Chronic disease oversight (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, etc).
- Psychological services (counseling, support).
- Nutrition and genetic counseling referrals.
- Research opportunities for patients.
- Serve as a link between the cancer specialist and the primary care provider (including referrals).
- Helping patients focus on their quality of life framework — physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being.
For information and appointments
If you are a five-year breast cancer survivor and would like to be seen at the Survivorship Clinic, please contact:
Clinic Coordinator: Haidee Waters, Ph.D., ANP
Phone: (804) 628-1931
E-mail: hwaters@vcu.edu
For appointments: (804) 828-5113
