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 | July 14, 2017: Updated BCRA Released; 30+ Cancer-Related Groups Join in Opposition

July 14, 2017

Yesterday, Senate leadership released an updated draft version of their health care repeal bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). As Andy Slavitt, former acting director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, states, “Trumpcare went from being very bad to unworkably bad.” The bill allows insurers to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and to charge higher rates to sick people. [...]

NCCS and 33 Cancer-Related Patient Advocacy and Professional Organizations Jointly Oppose Senate’s Revised BCRA

July 13, 2017

Silver Spring, MD – NCCS joined 33 cancer-related patient advocacy and professional organizations in opposition to the Senate’s revised Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). “The Senate’s BCRA, just as the House’s AHCA, is a direct threat to America’s 16 million cancer patients and survivors who rely on timely and uninterrupted access to comprehensive and affordable health care,” said NCCS CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso. [...]

NCCS Submits Comments to CMS, Stresses Importance of ACA and Outlines Steps to Strengthen Law

July 13, 2017

NCCS submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to a request for information, in which CMS asked for suggestions to empower patients and promote consumer choice, stabilize insurance markets, and enhance affordability. In our letter, NCCS stressed the importance of the Affordable Care Act, with its pre-existing condition protections, community rating requirements, essential [...]

Open Letter to Congress: I Am Alive Because of the ACA (Guest Post)

July 11, 2017

By Rob DeLorenzo, Cancer Survivor – I am alive because of The Affordable Care Act (ACA). Having affordable and decent medical insurance allowed me to receive treatment for cancer which saved my life. But now you, our elected representatives in Congress, are voting to repeal the ACA and allow insurers to reinstate the pre-existing conditions exclusion, essentially voting for me and millions of others to lose [...]

ACA Update | July 7, 2017: Senate GOP Try to Tweak ACA Repeal Bill as Dissent Grows During Recess

July 7, 2017

When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) decided to delay the vote for the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), there was a collective sigh of relief from the patient community. But our work is far from over. The Senate is still planning to move forward with their attempt to pass the bill, and now is a critical time to voice your opposition to this harmful legislation. The most recent Senator to speak out against the bill is North Dakota Senator John Hoeven [...]

What Caught Our Eye: Advocates Raise Their Voices Over ACA Repeal; CDC Finds Disparity in Rural Cancer Deaths; Genetic Privacy; and More

July 7, 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. In the Spotlight: “Local cancer survivor continues to fight, this time for health care" – From KRIS-TV – “I’m not just up there on Capitol Hill for myself, but I’m taking the concerns of our constituents here at home to Capitol Hill as well.” [...]

Kirby Lewis: My NCCS CPAT Symposium and Hill Day Experience

July 6, 2017

Through my association with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, I was invited to attend a workshop Symposium with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. The CPAT Symposium was held just steps away from Capitol Hill at the Washington Court Hotel. It was a great, incredibly informative, and intensive 2-day training session. CPAT members hailed from all over the country, with all types of cancer. In total, approximately 65 people [...]

ACA Update | June 29, 2017: Senate Health Care Vote Delayed

June 29, 2017

As you likely heard on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he would not proceed with a vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) this week, as was previously planned. The BCRA, the Senate’s bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, was released last week in draft form and on Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their report on the bill. [...]

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