In recognition of the growing number of cancer survivors in the United States,
survivorship has become an important health care concern. The Institute of Medicine’s recent report
comprehensively outlined deficits in the care provided to cancer survivors and proposed mechanisms
to improve the coordination and quality of follow-up care provided to this growing number of
Americans. Measures to achieve these objectives include improving communication between health
care providers through a Survivorship Care Plan, providing evidence-based surveillance guidelines,
and assessing different models of survivorship care. Implementing coordinated survivorship care
broadly will require additional health care resources and commitment from both health-care providers
and payers. Research aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of survivorship care will be important
on this front.