Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center publishes manual for childhood cancer survivors

"Primary care physicians and nurses can play a pivotal role in the monitoring of potential late effects and survivorship issues," says Shad.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 10,730 children will be diagnosed with cancer this year and 1,490 are expected to die from the disease. At Lombardi, patients who are two years out from treatment are automatically enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program directed by Shad. The program, established in 2003, is also open to all childhood cancer survivors, regardless of where they received treatment. It focuses on the unique health-care needs of survivors by:

• Monitoring and managing late effects of therapy
• Addressing psychosocial needs
• Educating survivors about their disease and the treatment received
• Promoting wellness through education on healthy living
• Encouraging participation in survivorship research
• Empowering survivors to advocate for their own healthcare needs

The Next Step… Crossing the Bridge to Survivorship, published by Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center is expected to be available to reporters in late April. Funding for the manual was provided by Tracy’s Kids, a program of the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

The manual will be introduced at the 2nd annual Rise to Action Conference to be held April 12th and 13th at the Georgetown University Conference Center. For more on the conference, visit http://www.childrenscause.org/.

To learn more about Lombardi’s Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program, log on to http://lombardi.georgetown.edu.

About Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center and Georgetown University Hospital, seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer through innovative basic and clinical research, patient care, community education and outreach, and the training of cancer specialists of the future. Lombardi is one of only 39 comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, as designated by the National Cancer Institute, and the only one in the Washington, DC, area. For more information, go to http://lombardi.georgetown.edu.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through our partnership with MedStar Health). Our mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing and Health Studies, both nationally ranked, the world-renowned Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), home to 60 percent of the university’s sponsored research funding.