Impact of Survivorship Care Planning of Oncology Care at the End of Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report recommending that all cancer survivors receive a customized survivorship care plan (SCP) to increase survivors’ understanding of diagnoses, long-term treatment effects, and ideas for improving overall health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare a tailored SCP program (POST) to treatment as usual (TAU) on patient ratings of quality and content of discussion with providers at the end of their breast cancer treatment.

Two hundred participants were randomized to receive either the POST treatment (n=100) or TAU (n=100) at their last treatment visit. Women were presented with a checklist of 29 survivorship topics and indicated whether their healthcare provider discussed it at their last visit. They were also asked to rate overall quality of discussion (QOD) with their providers and across several QOD subscales.

Analyses indicated that on average, POST women endorsed 20 out of the 29 topics compared to 14 topics endorsed by TAU. Additionally, POST women reported a better QOD overall and across all subscales.

POST women remembered discussing more survivorship topics and reported better discussions with their providers. As a practical implication, cancer survivors should receive an individualized SCP to ensure that patients feel well informed of their road to survivorship.