GWCI launches e-learning series to raise awareness of ongoing health care needs of cancer survivors

In collaboration with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the George Washington University Cancer Institute (GWCI) is launching the Cancer Survivorship E-Learning Series for Primary Care Providers on April 15, 2013. The series is an integral part of the National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center's mission to shape the future of cancer survivorship care and improve the quality of life of cancer survivors as they transition from treatment to recovery and beyond.

The e-learning series will be available to a range of health care providers including general medicine physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses who practice in a variety of primary care settings. The series is free and offers continuing education credits. It addresses the current state of cancer survivorship. Modules focus on the role of clinical generalists and specialists in providing follow-up care, how to manage long-term and late medical and psychosocial effects of cancer and its treatment, and the importance of survivorship care planning.

"GWCI is pleased to collaborate with the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and nationally recognized experts in clinical survivorship care and primary care to offer the e-learning series," said Mandi Pratt-Chapman, M.A., associate director of community programs for GWCI. "We are launching this program to raise awareness among our nation's primary care providers of the ongoing health care needs of cancer survivors."

The first three modules, to be released on April 15, will include a focus on the "Current Status of Survivorship Care and the Role of Primary Care Providers," presented by Larissa Nekhlyudov, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the department of population medicine at Harvard Medical School and internist at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and Anne Willis, M.A., director of the division of cancer survivorship at GWCI.

"Cancer survivors are mostly seen in primary care. In order to effectively care for cancer survivors, primary care providers need education, guidance, and tools," said Nekhlyudov. "I am so glad that this program has been developed, and I am thrilled to participate."

Future topics in 2013 include the importance of health promotion in cancer survivorship and clinical guidelines for cancer survivorship care. Each one-hour module offers patient experience interviews, presentations by experts in survivorship and primary care, case studies, and patient and provider resources.

The series is offered as part of an increasing national focus on the need to improve the quality of care provided to cancer survivors after completing treatment.

"The National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center supports the development and distribution of a broad range of cancer survivorship informational materials, including clinical practice guidelines and health care provider education materials for survivorship care," said Annette Gardner, public health advisor, CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.

The Center also promotes healthy behaviors to reduce late and long-term effects of cancer and its treatment and addresses gaps in cancer survivorship services through evaluation.

"There are nearly 14 million cancer survivors in the United States, and more attention than ever is focused on the quality of life and long-term outcomes of cancer survivors," said Roshini George, national vice president of health promotions for the ACS. "The American Cancer Society is delighted to be partnering with the George Washington University Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for this program."