Whom can I turn to for help?

Finding the right person to help you get back in the swing and stay "in the swing" is as individual as each person's unique zest for life. You may be a person who doesn't want or need a "Health Coordinator" to help you get back in the swing of life, preferring to follow these four steps, as recommended by the leaders in post-treatment care, on your own. Or you may already be following this routine that leads to joyful, healthy living:

• Choose a healthy lifestyle proven to optimize your wellbeing.
• Access a team of healthcare providers trained to help you address your treatment-related health complications and reduce your risk of cancer recurrence or cancer spread.
• Contact the nearest Breast Cancer Survivorship Center.
• Know your treatment history and the recommendations for follow-up care and surveillance.
• Empower yourself and your family to understand how your unique breast cancer experience impacts your lifelong health

As more oncologists and oncology nurses, primary care physicians, and other medical and psychosocial providers of healthcare become trained in providing post-treatment breast cancer care, you will find their practices include someone who is designated to be the Survivorship Health Care Coordinator to help you find the resources to improve and protect your health after treatment.

Your cancer center or other medical providers may not be providing post-treatment care, however, so be sure to ask what services they offer, if they do not refer you to someone to coordinate that care after your last treatment.

Ideally, survivorship care should center on the Four Essential Components Of Survivorship Care*:

1. SURVEILLANCE for cancer spread, recurrence, or second cancers; assessment of psychological and late effects.
2. COORDINATION between specialists and primary care providers to ensure that all of the survivor's health needs are met.
   *The 2005 Institute of Medicine Report: From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition
3. INTERVENTION for consequences of cancer and its treatment, for example: medical problems such as lymphedema and sexual dysfunction; symptoms, including pain and fatigue; psychological distress experienced by cancer survivors and their caregivers; and concerns related to employment, insurance and disability.
4. PREVENTION of recurrent and new cancers, and of other late effects.

Go to www.Journeyforward.org to learn more about how to find a breast cancer survivorship program or cancer survivorship center, and how to talk with your doctor about these services.