by Jared Reed  

Survival rates for cancer beyond five years after treatment are on the rise, but more patients are reporting frustrations at fragmentation in their follow-up care, new Australian research suggests.  

The crux of the problem is the transition between treatment to the survivorship phase, where fragmentation of care between oncologists and GPs starts to occur, says oncologist Dr Michael Jefford, from Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.  

He says poor coordination, duplication and inconsistency are putting patients’ health at risk.  

Patients often do not know to expect physical and psychological effects from treatment, including reports of fatigue, pain, urinary/bowel issues and hot flushes, he says.  

“Despite the complex issues around treatment completion, survivorship care is suboptimal,” he writes in Cancer Forum.  

“Survivors are at an increased risk of secondary or recurrent cancers, as well as co-morbidities that affected older populations, such as heart disease and arthritis.”  

Many initiatives for ongoing management lack a sound evidence base, and are ad-hoc, Dr Jefford says. He advocates strategies such as care plans, screening tools and training, as well as education for both doctors and patients, and development of evidence-based guidelines.