New England Cancer Centers Expand Survivor Care for Nearly 1 Million Patients as 5-Year Survival Reaches 70%
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 30
New England Cancer Centers Expand Survivor Care for Nearly 1 Million Patients as 5-Year Survival Reaches 70%
1 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 30
Summary
Nearly 1 million cancer survivors in New England are driving hospitals including Dana-Farber, Mass General Brigham and UMass Memorial to broaden post-treatment services for anxiety, side effects, family planning and financial counseling.
The push reflects a widening gap after treatment ends: only about one-third of patients receive a survivorship care plan, even though many survivors face nerve damage, heart problems, brain fog and fear of recurrence.
Costs are a major strain as well. First-year cancer treatment averages $43,516 nationally and ovarian cancer averages $79,120, while nearly half of U.S. survivors have carried cancer-related medical debt.
Hospitals are adding programs as survival improves—five-year cancer survival rose to 70% for 2015-2021 diagnoses from 49% in 1975—shifting more attention to long-term quality of life after treatment.
With life-saving drugs leaving patients in debt, is the financial cost of surviving cancer becoming too high?
As medicine creates more cancer survivors, is our healthcare system prepared to treat the life that comes after?
From 15 to 22 Million: How the U.S. Cancer Survivor Population Is Reshaping Care, Policy, and Equity (2015–2035)
Overview
Between 2015 and 2035, cancer care in the U.S. has been transformed by a significant and sustained increase in the number of survivors. This change is driven by a remarkable 34 percent decline in cancer mortality rates from 1991 to 2023, which prevented over 4.5 million deaths. These improvements are the result of advancements in early detection, diagnosis, and treatment, leading to better patient outcomes. As more people survive cancer, there is a growing need to expand specialized care and address the unique challenges faced by this population, shaping the future direction of cancer survivorship programs.