If a picture is worth a thousand words, this 17-minute video by Eric Slade Productions is worth at least an undecillion (1 followed by 36 zeros).
This excellent release from the Institute of Medicine -- From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition -- uses brief interviews with both patients and healthcare professionals to provide an overview of the challenges patients face after completion of cancer treatment.
For people who feel "lost" after completion of treatment -- e.g., unsure of who they are after cancer or what they should be doing to get well and stay well -- this video can help. At the very least, they will feel the comfort of knowing they are not alone and that their needs are being explored by researchers in oncology.
On a practical level, survivors can share the video with family and friends. It may help others understand why survivors don't feel relieved and happy after treatment, or why survivors often have difficulty putting the cancer experience behind them.
The video highlights the value of so-called Survivorship Care Plans (SCP) that summarize what diagnoses and treatments a patient has had along with what is recommended for the future (e.g. which screening tests should be done at what interval).
Healthy Survivors know there is life after cancer (or other medical challenge), but it takes knowledge, hope and action to make it a good life.
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