NEW YORK – 
Every year cancer survivors gather to celebrate life after the disease, but to also take stock of the harsh realities that follow survival. Lance Armstrong and Doug Ulman on the toll it takes.
You’ve done it. You’ve beaten cancer. Come through the chemo. Endured the pain and the fear and emerged a new person: tougher, wiser and more resilient than ever. Now what? “Your cancer treatment is over and all of the focus that was on you during the treatment is now over,” a survivor told us recently. “You are left with many side effects and no support or answers.”
Last weekend marked National Cancer Survivors Day and for both of us and millions of other Americans, it’s a time to celebrate being alive. It’s also a chance to take stock of how America deals with life after cancer.
Ruth Rechis has been dealing with cancer her entire life. Her older sister, Sarah, died of leukemia when she was three years old. When Ruth was only 15, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. Ruth is now 18 years post-treatment. She survived but finished treatment with a feeling of, “What now?” The effects of cancer and her treatment have stayed with her. Her risks for heart disease and for breast cancer have skyrocketed as a result of the type of chemotherapy and radiation she received. The emotional toll of that knowledge is a daily burden. Luckily, unlike many Americans, Ruth has a community of support, good insurance and a strong focus on her survivorship.
For decades, research has been focused on helping people beat cancer. This year alone, 1.5 million Americans will face a new diagnosis and due to advances in medicine and treatment options, more of them will survive than ever before. But once they have completed treatment and said goodbye to their medical team, they will find that while cancer may leave their bodies, its effects can last a lifetime—physically, emotionally and financially. Calibrating these effects and off-setting them with resources and support is the focus of an emerging field in the cancer community—survivorship.
To help shed light on the challenges survivors face and how the survivorship field can address them, LIVESTRONG released the second installment of its Survey for People Affected by Cancer this week, an undertaking which included more than 11,000 cancer survivors, their loved ones and family members. It shows fewer Americans today are getting help for physical, emotional, and practical concerns after cancer than in 2006.
Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America.
Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America. However, only one in five respondents received help with debt, insurance coverage, or career concerns. Seventy-nine percent said they suffered from fear centered on a possible recurrence yet only 49 percent got emotional help. That’s down 2 percent since 2006. And many reported chronic physical effects like trouble concentrating, lingering pain, and lack of energy with varying levels of help for those challenges.
The report shows survivorship has a long way to go. The good news is that there are resources to help survivors and their families navigate the after-effects of cancer.
Lance Armstrong, LIVESTRONG Founder and Chairman, is a world-renowned cyclist and cancer survivor/advocate.
Doug Ulman, LIVESTRONG President & CEO
Within the cancer community, there are many non-profit organizations and services who seek to fill the gaps. LIVESTRONG’s navigation services, like the American Cancer Society’s, connect survivors with information and services to overcome the during- and post-treatment challenges they face. Through our ongoing work and with the findings in this study we aim to continue to advocate for treating survivorship as a distinct phase of the cancer continuum. We hope to see public policy makers, health advocates and medical professionals acknowledge that survivorship is a critical piece of cancer care, and work to help more people live successfully with the long-term impact of cancer.
Fundamentally, our organization is about hope. Hope for a cancer-free future. But until we get there, we will continue to work each day to fight cancer, help people live and thrive with and through cancer, and bring the voice of survivors to life. By being their voice we will advocate for better care, better medicine, better treatments and better answers for the millions of people who will someday wake up and ask: now what?
Lance Armstrong is a cycling champion, cancer survivor and father of five. Doug Ulman is a three-time cancer survivor who recently welcomed his first child into the world.
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