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.

ACA Update | September 8, 2017: Bipartisan ACA Hearings Convene; Cassidy-Graham Repeal Plan Looms

September 8, 2017

During two Senate HELP committee hearings this week on stabilizing the ACA market, two panels of insurance commissioners and governors agreed that funding cost-sharing reduction payments were critical in keeping insurers in the marketplace and avoiding premium increases of 20% or more. As we reported previously, CSR payments compensate insurers for the discounts they are mandated under Obamacare [...]

What Caught Our Eye: Cassidy-Graham Repeal Plan; Bipartisan ACA Hearings; Financial Issues for Childhood Survivors; IBM’s Watson Not Living Up to Expectations; and More

September 8, 2017

What Caught Our Eye (WCOE), September 8, 2017 | What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. | “Cassidy-Graham: the Obamacare repeal plan McCain is supporting, explained” — The senator who cast the final vote to kill Obamacare repeal is unexpectedly helping to revive that effort from the dead. Sen. John McCain told the Hill Wednesday that he would support a plan [...]

ACA Update | August 25, 2017: Bipartisan ACA Hearings in Sept.; Graham-Cassidy Repeal Plan; Zero Counties Remain Without ACA Insurer

August 25, 2017

With only one week left of August congressional recess, NCCS is preparing for a busy September. Senators Alexander and Murray are working on bipartisan health care legislation with the goal of helping stabilize the ACA marketplace and ensuring the law’s cost-sharing reductions (CSR) payments. However, Senators Graham, Cassidy and Heller are still actively pursuing their plan to repeal the ACA. As the Center on Budget and Policy [...]

WCOE: Graham-Cassidy Repeal Plan Has Deep Cuts; Bipartisan ACA Hearings Set; Sticker Shock Over Leukemia Drug; New Palliative Care Study; & More

August 25, 2017

What Caught Our Eye (WCOE), August 25, 2017 - What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. - “Cassidy-Graham Would Deeply Cut and Drastically Redistribute Health Coverage Funding Among States,” Via Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) — The Cassidy-Graham plan would have much the same damaging consequences as [...]

ACA Update | August 18, 2017 – CBO: Cutting CSRs Would Cost Gov’t $194 Billion, Raise Premiums; Trump Admin Funds CSRs for One Month

August 18, 2017

August recess is typically a quiet time in Washington, but that is not the case this year. Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis that found that ending cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments, as President Trump has repeatedly threatened, would increase the deficit by $194 billion over 10 years. Cutting the cost-sharing payments would end up costing the government more because insurance companies will [...]

What Caught Our Eye: ACA News; Cancer Trials Face Patient Shortage; Acupressure Can Relieve Cancer Fatigue; More on Liquid Biopsies

August 18, 2017

What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. “GOP senator meeting with White House on new ObamaCare plan” — Via The Hill — Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he’s meeting with the White House and the Trump administration “two or three times per week” on a plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Cassidy has teamed up with Senators [...]

ACA Update | August 11, 2017: A Bipartisan Plan for the ACA; and Insurers Say Uncertainty Is Driving Premium Rate Hikes

August 11, 2017

It has been a relatively quiet week on Capitol Hill with Members of Congress on recess and back in their home states and districts. On Wednesday, a bipartisan health policy coalition announced a plan that they will be presenting to Members of Congress to strengthen and stabilize the ACA, pay all the federal subsidies provided under the ACA, and to encourage enrollment in coverage. [...]

What Caught Our Eye: Strengthening the ACA; the Harm of Medical Debt; Bone Symptoms After Treatment; and More

August 11, 2017

What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. Affordable Care Act - “Donald Trump Owns Obamacare Now” - Via Vox.com — "We’ve spent months now watching Congress debate and decide the future of the Affordable Care Act. Sometimes, we’ve even done so until 2 am, spending a very late night [...]

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