Abstract
Cancer survivorship care in Colombia is of increasing importance. International survivorship initiatives and studies show that continuing symptoms, psychological distress, and late effects impact the quality of life for survivors. Priorities for quality survivorship according to Colombian patients and clinicians are unknown. We undertook a nominal consensus approach with 24 participants using virtual meeting technology to identify the priorities for cancer survivorship. We applied an iterative approach conducted over eight weeks with five workshops and one patient focus group followed by a priority setting survey. The consensus group established six main themes, which were subsequently evaluated by experts: (i) symptoms and secondary effects of cancer; (ii) care coordination to increase patient access and integration of cancer care; (iii) psychosocial support after cancer treatment; (iv) mapping information resources and available support services for long-term cancer care; (v) identifying socioeconomic and regional inequalities in cancer survival to improve care and outcomes; and (vi) health promotion and encouraging lifestyle change. The order of priorities differed between clinicians and patients: patients mentioned psychosocial support as the number one priority, and clinicians prioritized symptoms and surveillance for cancer recurrence. Developing survivorship care needs consideration of both views, including barriers such as access to services and socioeconomic disparities.
Highlights
In 2020, around 19.3 million persons were newly diagnosed with cancer globally, a number expected to rise to 28.9 million by 2040 [1]
Differences in cancer survival have been described in Colombia, with rural and more vulnerable populations being at a disadvantage, as mainly attributed to socioeconomic inequalities and access to care [3,4]
We applied an iterative approach conducted over eight weeks with five workshops and with experts in Colombia invited via an announcement in the Living With and Beyond Cancer (LWBC) clinical network
Summary
In 2020, around 19.3 million persons were newly diagnosed with cancer globally, a number expected to rise to 28.9 million by 2040 [1]. Differences in cancer survival have been described in Colombia, with rural and more vulnerable populations being at a disadvantage, as mainly attributed to socioeconomic inequalities and access to care [3,4] These lower-income and rural populations are mostly affiliated with the subsidized regimes [3,4,5,6]. Less than 50% of new breast, colorectal, and stomach cancer patients are diagnosed in early stages, meaning cancer patients need more supportive care for this advanced disease [2]. These later stage patients are more likely to be in the subsidized regime [7]
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