Mona Cook, BSN, RN, CBCN, care coordinator at the Nassif Community Cancer Center, discusses cancer survivorship services available to patients.
What is cancer survivorship support?
Cancer survivorship support is a touchpoint for a patient who has completed, or is nearing completion of their active treatment. During treatment, patients see oncologists, surgeons, therapists and nurses, and appointments are filled with lab tests, x-rays, infusions, treatments and assessments. When it’s over, the excitement of ringing the bell is a victory, but what comes next?
While completing treatment may bring a sense of relief, the next stage of life may also bring feelings uncertainty and fear of recurrence. This is where survivorship support and the Nassif Community Cancer Center’s lifetime support services come in to help them with the transition from active treatment to their “new normal” after cancer.
What happens at a survivorship appointment?
Care coordinators meet with patients towards the end of their treatment to create a survivorship plan. These care plans cover the treatment they’ve had for cancer, and provides a roadmap for the next stage in the cancer journey, with information on services we offer and team members and resources available to them after treatment and throughout survivorship.
What services are available to survivors?
Our exercise specialist and oncology dietitians continue to be available to work with survivors after treatment. Many survivors may need help with mental health and can meet with our social workers or receive a referral to a family therapist. Additionally, we offer a wide range of classes, with something for everyone. I like to call these “moving support groups,” which include meditation, yoga, chair yoga, tai chi, open gym. Survivors may also take part in massage, reiki, board game sessions and more.
Our wonderful community partners help us host horticulture, creative art or cooking events. For survivors with young children or grandchildren in the home, we offer picnics, “Build-a-Bear” events and attend baseball games. These events provide a sense of normalcy for patients, survivors and their families, regardless of where they are in their cancer journey.
It’s easy to put these types of services on the back burner during treatment, so having them available to survivors is just as important to help them regain a sense of self and rebalance their lives. The vast majority of these services are offered completely free to our patients and survivors thanks to our generous donors, while a few come with a minimal shared cost.
Who is eligible for survivorship services?
All cancer survivors, regardless of when or where you were treated, are eligible for these services. I encourage all survivors in our community to take advantage of these offerings. Survivors become friends and become a support system for each other because they’ve “been there, done that.”
In my role, I also schedule many patients for their biopsies and deliver the difficult news of a cancer diagnosis. I have walked along side them through the fear and uncertainty. To see them on the other side of the cancer spectrum, bonding with other survivors through our survivorship services brings a smile to my face.
How can a cancer survivor schedule an appointment?
If you’re finishing treatment at the Nassif Community Cancer Center, your team will discuss your survivorship care plan with you and get you connected with available services if you are not already involved. Survivors, regardless of when or where they were treated, are also welcome to call the Nassif Community Cancer Center at (319) 558-4876 or fill out the Survivorship appointment request form on our website.
Mona Cook, BSN, RN, CBCN
Care Coordinator
Mona earned her RN from St. Luke’s School of Nursing and her bachelor’s in nursing from Coe College in Cedar Rapids. She is a certified breast care nurse and has a passion for caring for breast cancer patients.
