Cancer: Survivorship (Patient Experience)

Abstract This entry reviews the salient experiences of patients throughout cancer survivorship. Cancer can have devastating physical and psychological impacts on patients as they navigate from diagnosis to treatment to remission. After completing treatment, patients may continue to experience heightened levels of uncertainty about their cancer coming back and about communicating with their healthcare clinicians across the lifespan. Such challenges also may alter patients' close relationships and complicate patients' communicative efforts throughout survivorship.