Yale Cancer Center Survivorship Symposium Draws Healthcare Professionals from throughout the Region

New Haven, Conn. — Yale Cancer Center and the Connecticut Challenge Survivorship Clinic sponsored a two-day clinical symposium on cancer survivorship for healthcare professionals on May 22-23 at Yale School of Medicine. The medical education symposium included 34 presentations on the psychosocial effects of cancer therapy, cancer risk reduction and prevention, and medical care for cancer survivors.

Dr. Julia Rowland, Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute, gave the keynote address at the symposium addressing the topic, “What Cancer Survivors are Telling Us.” Dr. Rowland emphasized that as chances improve for patients to live with or beyond cancer there is a growing need to understand the special health care needs of cancer survivors. In addition, she indicated that cancer survivors want to be aware of additional medical issues that they may face in the future and ways to minimize these.

“I am pleased that we were able to present such comprehensive information on cancer survivorship to physicians, nurses, and social workers from the region. It is important to continually update the medical community as we learn more through our exploration and investigation into the topic of cancer survivorship, a relatively new focus in cancer research,” said Dr. Kenneth Miller, Director of the Connecticut Challenge (CTC) Survivorship Clinic at Yale Cancer Center.

Dr. Nina Kadan-Lottick, the Medical Director of the HEROS Clinic for Childhood Cancer Survivors at Yale, added “We were fortunate to have leaders in cancer from around the country share practical advice about how survivors can optimize their health and well-being. Speakers discussed concrete strategies for improving sexual intimacy, diet, cardiac health, and mental health.”

The first of their kind in Connecticut, the CTC Survivorship Clinic and the HEROS Clinic provide a multi-disciplined approach to care to help people prevent, detect, and treat complications resulting from cancer treatments across the age spectrum. The clinics also hope to empower survivors to take steps to maximize their health, quality of life and longevity. Connecticut is among very few states with a comprehensive program dedicated to meeting the needs of cancer survivors.

Dr. Miller added, “Being cancer free doesn’t mean that survivors are free of their cancer experience. While cancer survivors are highly resilient and most are doing very well, all survivors face at least one emotional or physical challenge following treatment and specialized help can make the recovery process easier.”

Yale Cancer Center is one of a select network of 39 comprehensive cancer centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute and the only one in Southern New England. Bringing together the resources of Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale University School of Medicine, its mission encompasses patient care, research, cancer prevention and control, community outreach, and education. For more information on the Center, please go to www.yalecancercenter.org