Caring for yourself after cancer treatment is an important part of your health.
Survivorship is a key part of the cancer care continuum. Survivorship includes the health and well-being of a person with cancer. This spans from when that person first gets a cancer diagnosis, until the end of life.
Survivorship includes many aspects of cancer wellness, like:
Survivorship also involves follow-up care – like regular health checkups with a family doctor or community care team. This can include coping with or treating the late effects of cancer treatment. Screening for cancer recurrence (when the cancer comes back after treatment) or second cancers is also crucial during this phase.
Did You Know? Video Series from the National Cancer Institute: Cancer Survivorship
Did You Know that the number of cancer survivors has increased from about 3 million in 1971, when the National Cancer Act was signed into law?
It is estimated that there will be more than 26 million cancer survivors in the United States by 2040.
This increase is explained, in part, by the aging of the U.S. population— members of the baby boomer generation are now older adults.
There are also more survivors alive today thanks to better detection strategies, more effective cancer treatments, and improved supportive care.
Among today’s survivors, the most common cancer sites are female breast, prostate, colorectal, melanoma, and gynecologic.
But who is a cancer survivor?
An individual is considered a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis through the rest of life.
There are many types of survivors, including those living with cancer — who might continue with cancer treatment throughout their lives, or be on and off treatment—
and those free of cancer, who complete their treatment and remain cancer-free.
It is also important to note that some people who have been diagnosed with cancer prefer a different term— not “survivor,” but instead “thriver” or another descriptive word to characterize themselves.
The term “survivor” is meant to describe a population of those with a history of cancer, rather than to provide a label that some people may or may not want to use for themselves.
Talk with your team about ways to stay healthy after a diagnosis of cancer such as maintaining a healthy weight, eating nourishing foods, getting exercise, avoiding tobacco and alcohol, and protecting your skin from the sun.
What is being done for this increasing number of cancer survivors, and what resources are available for them?
The NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship supports research to enhance the quality and length of survival of all people diagnosed with cancer and to prevent, minimize, or manage adverse effects of cancer and its treatment.
For more information on cancer survivorship, go to survivorship.cancer.gov.
For more information on cancer statistics go to seer.cancer.gov.
U.S Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
National Cancer Institute
The WWRCP releases a strategic plan every 4 years. Our most recent 2024-2028 WWRCP Strategic Plan identifies a goal to improve patient, care partner, and provider experience.
One of the key objectives included in this goal is to:
Develop survivorship programs for seamless transition from cancer centre based care to the primary care setting.
The WWRCP knows that your cancer care does not end when treatment is finished. Over the next few years, the WWRCP will work to build patient resources and support pathways for survivorship. This will help you know how to access care once treatment at the cancer centre is over.
Ontario Health-Cancer Care Ontario (OH-CCO) has a program that sets provincial standards for survivorship care in Ontario. They create follow-up cancer care best practices and share this with all Regional Cancer Programs. This helps to ensure each region offers similar cancer care is offered across the province.
Survivorship resources and services are meant to help a person cope with their new normal, while also ensuring their health care providers have the education, tools, and resources they require to provide high quality care to cancer survivors.