title: Survivorship perspectives and advocacy.
abstract: From the moment of diagnosis, a cancer survivor faces serious life-altering decisions. Survivors who are informed about their options and who feel they have personal control over decision making generally perceive a higher quality of life than those who feel less informed and less in control. Health care providers are in a unique position to define a survivor's cancer care and to guide a survivor through treatment and post-treatment care. By implementing survivorship care plans and directing their patients to survivorship resources, health care providers can advocate for survivors and teach them to be effective self-advocates.
authors.affiliation: Rutgers University School of Law, Newark, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stovall
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care; D012944:Social Support; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*