Dr Diana Adams

31st October 2017

GPs spend a lot of time at the front end of cancer; dealing with the initial shock diagnosis, making multiple specialist appointments and developing treatment and support plans.

But for many patients, not nearly enough time is dedicated to the period after acute illness.

Better support from oncologists would go a long way to enabling GPs to help their cancer patients not just survive this period, but thrive

Mostly, this is not the oncologist's fault. They are working in a time-pressured environment with ever-more complex treatments.

In an ideal world, every cancer patient transitioning back to their GP would be provided with a survivorship care plan summarising the treatment they received when they were very ill.

But few specialists provide them. Despite policy development by Cancer Australia on this front, we are some way from care plans becoming part of routine care.

It’s a shame because a good survivorship care plan can help to manage some of the physical consequences of treatment, some of which may not manifest for months or years but may be prevented or mitigated with supportive care.

For instance, many cancer treatments can change a survivor’s relationship with their partner, both physical and emotional.

A care plan can provide supportive advice on issues such as vaginal dryness in breast cancer survivors and erectile dysfunction post prostate cancer therapy. It can also cover cognitive behavioural therapy for couples trying to rekindle a relationship with dramatically changed dynamics.

A good care plan also helps formulate discussions around fear of cancer recurrence by documenting medical information in a way that informs the survivor about their
condition and treatment. This allows the GP to talk to patients about their concerns and refer to a counsellor, social worker or psychologist if need be.

Over half a million Australians are living with cancer and incidence rates are predicted to increase by 38% by 2025.

This means GPs will be caring for a lot more cancer survivors in future.
Cancer centres that provide care plans include Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Institute, The Flinders Centre in Adelaide and the Concord Survivorship clinic in Sydney.

Until care plans become a part of routine care, GPs can try asking their patient’s oncologist to create one.

Hopefully, demand will drive supply.

Dr Adams is an oncologist and co-founder of Evexia Care - Living well after Cancer.