Cancer Survivorship: A New Challenge in Delivering Quality Cancer Care

“After my very last radiation treatment for breast cancer, I lay ona cold steel table hairless, half-dressed and astonished by the tearsstreaming down my face. I thought I would feel happy about finallyreaching the end of treatment, but instead I was sobbing. At the time,Iwasn’tsurewhatemotionsIwasfeeling.Lookingback,IthinkIcriedbecause this body had so bravely made it through 18 months ofsurgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Ironically, I also cried be-cause I would not be coming back to that familiar table where I hadbeen comforted and encouraged. Instead of joyous, I felt lonely,abandoned and terrified. This was the rocky beginning of cancersurvivorship for me.”—Elizabeth D. McKinley, MD, MPH