Dr. Sanft on How Survivorship Care Plans Differ Among Patients

Tara Sanft, MD, assistant professor of medicine, director, Survivorship Clinic, Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, discusses survivorship care plans and how they can differ among patients.

Cancer survivors must have individualized survivorship care plans because they have various risks, which depend on treatment. For example,Sanft says, in breast cancer, survivorship care plans vary depending on a patient’s disease stage, receptor status, and treatment plan. These are factors taken into consideration at the Survivorship Clinic at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Sanft explains.

It is imperative for practitioners to communicate these care plans with patients so that they understand the expectations, she adds. Moreover, survivors should still be screened for other types of cancers.