The Cancer Plan
Advance Survivorship Care and Support
In Georgia, more people than ever are surviving cancer—and that’s worth celebrating. But survival is just the beginning. Cancer can leave lasting effects on physical health, mental well-being, finances, relationships, and more.
This section of the Georgia Cancer Plan focuses on helping cancer survivors live full, healthy lives after treatment, while ensuring they have access to the long-term care and support they need.
Background
Georgians, like all Americans, are living longer after a diagnosis of cancer. A cancer survivor is any individual from the time of diagnosis through the balance of their life. The National Cancer Institute defines survivorship as “being focused on the health and wellness of a cancer patient post-treatment until the end of life. It covers the physical, psychosocial, and economic issues of cancer beyond the diagnosis and treatment phases. Survivorship includes issues related to the ability to get health care and follow-up treatment, late effects of treatment, second cancers, and quality of life.” Survivorship includes family members, friends, and caregivers impacted by the survivorship experience.
As of January 2022, there are approximately 18.1 million cancer survivors in the United States, constituting roughly 5% of the population. It is anticipated that by 2032, the number of cancer survivors will experience a significant rise of 24%, reaching a total of 22.5 million individuals. 1, 2 The estimated number of cancer survivors in Georgia as of January 2022 is 485,770 individuals with cancer. 3 Based on the most recently reported data, the most common cancer sites among adult survivors in Georgia are breast (16%), skin (14%), and prostate (17%). 4 Of the cancer survivors, 75% are 50 years old or older, and approximately 25% of cancer survivors had an income level of $75,000 or more. 5
Cancer survivorship is dependent on the stage of the disease when the cancer is diagnosed. The five-year relative survival rate for individuals diagnosed with cancer of any site is 69%. Relative survival provides an estimation of the percentage of patients who are anticipated to survive the impact of their cancer, focusing solely on cancer-related mortality and excluding the risk of death from other unrelated causes. There are more female survivors (58%) than male survivors (42%). 6 Among females, non- Hispanic whites have the highest survival rates compared to other groups.
The CDC National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program’s priorities include utilizing surveillance to assess survivors’ needs, offering education programs to empower the survivors, caregivers, and providers in making informed decisions, implementing patient navigation systems to optimize treatment and care, and advocating for policies and systems changes to enhance access to palliative care and other vital cancer resources and services.
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, survivorship care is a specific approach taken to address the long-term needs of cancer survivors, including monitoring for and managing long-term and late effects and health promotion. In Georgia, disparities are evident among cancer survivors, as they experience higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity compared to adults who have never received a cancer diagnosis. 7
It is important to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors. This can be improved through continued surveillance, applied research, and evaluation. Increasing and maintaining physical activity among cancer survivors also improves the quality of life.
Objectives
Objective 1
Assess, establish, and report on the needs/status of Georgia’s cancer survivors.
Objective 2
Support quality in clinical practice knowledge and skills of those providing regular care to survivors.
Objective 3
Enhance the engagement of health workers (i.e., patient navigators, community health workers, patient advocates, and Promotoras) to support survivors in accessing improved services.
Strategies
Strategy | Strategic Actions | Target Populations | Key Collaborators |
| Ensure Quality Data and Continuous Learning | Complete one data survivorship needs reassessment among cancer survivors and caregivers over the implementation period with a focus on underserved and disproportionately affected communities and target populations. Track health, pathological conditions, and health behaviors among cancer survivors from BRFSS data biennially through DPH to inform survivorship education and support efforts with a focus on low-income and uninsured populations. Disseminate the need for reassessment findings and data analysis in culturally appropriate ways amongst key stakeholders, non-profits that serve cancer survivors, and CoC hospitals within Georgia. | Survivors and caregivers with emphasis on the target population. Survivors with emphasis on the target population. Survivors, healthcare professionals, nonprofit organizations, community leaders, and faith-based organizations. |
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| Improve Provider Education, Clinical Training and Practice | Organize and host at least two interdisciplinary cancer survivorship conferences. Develop online and in-person cancer survivorship training for professional cadres (i.e., patient navigators, community health workers, patient advocates, and promotors) focused on connecting cancer survivors to available resources. Conduct data collection to assess health professionals’ perspectives in clinical/non-clinical settings to improve patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and health-related quality of life (HQRLs) for cancer patients/co- survivors. | Survivors Nonprofits Researchers Caregivers Policymakers Community Health Workers Patient Navigators Advocates Promotors Patient-facing healthcare professionals Primary care providers Patient advocates Liaisons Financial counselors Social workers |
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| Facilitate Policy Action and Advocacy | Create partnerships with community- based organizations to expand the reach of survivorship efforts. Create partnerships with primary care providers to provide community- based care for survivors throughout the state. Secure funding and other resources to support survivorship efforts and community-based collaborations. | Community-based organizations Primary Care Providers Funders |
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Measures
5 Year Success Measure | Baseline Values | Target Values |
| Survivorship Needs Reassessment completed | Not applicable (N/A) | One Survivorship Needs Reassessment will be completed. |
| Data reports completed | Not applicable (N/A) | At least two data reports will be completed. |
| Number of communication materials distributed | Not applicable (N/A) | Communication materials will be distributed at the GASCO Annual Meeting and the American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference. |
The survivorship conference hosted and the number of attendees | Not applicable (N/A) | At least two conferences will be held. |
Number of partnerships created to expand survivorship care and resources | Not applicable (N/A) | To Be Determined (TBD) |
Number of educational sessions and materials | Not applicable (N/A) | At least ten educational sessions will be held. |
Follow up with evidence-based guidelines and implementations | Not applicable (N/A) | |
Number of grants submitted and amount of funding received | Not applicable (N/A) | To Be Determined (TBD) |
Number of surveys completed Survivors’ quality of life | Not applicable (N/A) | At least two surveys will be completed. |
- National Cancer (2022). Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Statistics and Graphs. Retrieved from: https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/ocs/statistics.
- The National Cancer Institute’s definition of a survivor includes defines a cancer survivor as: “An individual is considered a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis, through the balance of his or her life. Family members, friends, and caregivers are also impacted by the survivorship experience and are therefore included in this definition.”
- American Cancer (2022). Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Facts and Figures 2022-2024. Retrieved from: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer- org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/cancer-treatment-and-survivorship-facts-and-figures/2022-cancer-treatment-and-survivorship-fandf-acs.pdf.
- Georgia Department of Public (2017). Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
- National Cancer (2019). Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. Surveillance Research Program. Retrieved from: https://www.cancer.org/ content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/cancer-treatment-and-survivorship-facts-and-figures/cancer-treatment-and-survivorship-facts-and- figures-2019-2021.pdf
- CDC and (2016-2020). State Cancer Profiles. Retrieved from: https://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/quick-profiles/index.php?statename=georgia#t=3.
- CDC and National Cancer (2020). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations Tool, based on 2020 submission data (1999-2018). Retrieved from: www.cdc.gov/cancer/dataviz