Quality Cancer Care

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Our mission is to advocate for quality cancer care for all people touched by cancer, but what exactly is “quality cancer care,” and why is it essential for patients and the health care system? The National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine) and others have worked to define quality cancer care. Cancer Nation has represented patient perspectives in these efforts and played a leadership role in building the evidence base for quality cancer care.

Cancer Nation believes that cancer patients should have access to:

Care that adheres to evidence-based guidelines;
Comprehensive cancer care that assures treatment of the symptoms and side effects of cancer and cancer treatment;
Coordinated care with strong communication among all providers and the patient;
A written care plan detailing all elements of cancer care;
Care in a clinical trial, if it represents a potential treatment option;
Shared decision-making, including honest discussion about prognosis, the intent of therapy and the patient’s values and preferences regarding care;
Support for psychosocial needs;
Palliative care throughout the course of treatment, from diagnosis through end of life;
End-of-life care, including but not limited to hospice care;
Post-treatment survivorship care, including a survivorship care plan with a treatment summary and personalized recommendations for monitoring and follow-up care.
Robust health information systems that support and improve all other aspects of quality cancer care.

Ensuring quality cancer care is complex, and there are many areas for improvement and policy action. An important gap is in treatment decision-making and coordination of the multiple facets of cancer care. To address this gap, Cancer Nation advocates to ensure that every cancer patient has access to cancer care planning and coordination. These services provide cancer patients information to make informed decisions about treatments, encourage collaboration among the multi-disciplinary cancer care providers, and facilitate transitions from active treatment to survivorship.

NCCS Applauds Introduction by Reps. DeSaulnier and Carter of Bipartisan “Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act”

July 23, 2019

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), co-chairs of the Congressional Cancer Survivors Caucus, introduced H.R. 3835, the Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act (CCPCA). A legislative priority of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), the bill would create a Medicare service to reimburse providers for time and resources used to create cancer care plans for Medicare beneficiaries. [...]

Health Care Roundup: ACA Lawsuit Update; Chronic Pain Study; “Have Cancer, Must Travel;” “Survivorship Issues Reshape a Researcher’s Career;” More

July 19, 2019

Last week, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments in the Texas v. United States case that has the potential to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Two judges asked pointed questions that seemed sympathetic to the case against the ACA. While this is disheartening for cancer patients who rely so heavily on the ACA, observers from Kaiser Health News and others cautioned that a long road remains [...]

Patient Groups Urge Court to Prioritize Patients and Uphold Health Care Law

July 9, 2019

Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions and Coverage Standards at Risk — Patient groups are urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to prioritize patient protections, including those for people with pre-existing conditions, when it hears oral arguments today in the case Texas v. United States. The case is being appealed after a lower court ruling that the entire health care law should be struck down because Congress repealed the individual [...]

Health Care Roundup: Medicaid Work Requirement Studies; Care Coordination/Planning; Financial & Emotional Distress; Cancer in Firefighters; More

June 21, 2019

New ACA Replacement Plan? – This week, President Trump hinted at his intention to introduce a new health care plan. Health care remains a very popular political issue among most voters. With widespread reports saying that many Republicans in Congress would rather not make health care or Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement a top issue in the upcoming elections, it will be interesting to see whether the president follows through in the months ahead. [...]

Health Care Roundup: ACA Erased Key Racial Cancer Disparity; ‘Survivor’ Debate; Isolation in Survivorship; Remembering Two Cancer Pioneers; More

June 7, 2019

Today marks one year since the Trump administration announced it would not defend the ACA and that the entire law should be struck down, including protections for pre-existing conditions. In just one month, oral arguments are scheduled in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. New research released last week at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting shows that the ACA’s Medicaid expansion reduced racial disparities [...]

NCCS Wellness and Survivorship Blog Series Wrap-Up

June 6, 2019

Each week throughout May, NCCS published a blog post written by cancer survivors looking at the significance of physical and mental health, exercise, and nutrition during and after cancer treatment. The authors all varied in stage of life, type of cancer, and years since initial diagnosis. What they had in common however, was the passion and thoughtfulness to share their stories with the hope of helping others. We hear often from survivors and advocates [...]

Health Care Roundup: Executive Order on Price Transparency; Coping with Cancer; New Data on Cancer Disparities; US Health Spending; More

May 31, 2019

Executive Order on Price Transparency — This week, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is preparing an executive order that would require insurers and hospitals to disclose negotiated discounted rates for services. The executive order is intended to foster greater price transparency across a broad swath of the health-care industry as consumer concerns about medical costs emerge as a major issue in the lead-up [...]

Running: Fuel for My Body and Soul After Cancer

May 30, 2019

Being diagnosed with cancer stinks. It is a traumatic experience that will ripple through your life for years to come. For me it was no different. I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer at 31 and underwent treatment for a year, which included high doses of steroids. After almost two years of remission my cancer returned and had begun to spread to my uterus. My oncologist advised me that a hysterectomy was needed and within a few weeks [...]

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