title: Colorectal cancer survivors' needs and preferences for survivorship information.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Before developing a survivorship care plan (SCP) that colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors will value, understanding the informational needs of CRC survivors is critical.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed survivors treated for nonmetastatic CRC at two hospitals in New York about their needs and preferences for survivorship information. Participants completed treatment 6 to 24 months before the interview and had not received an SCP. We evaluated whether survivors knew their treatment history (10 topics), whether they understood ongoing risks (four topics), and their preferences for receiving 16 topics of survivorship information.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred seventy-five survivors completed the survey. Most survivors remembered information about past treatment (98% to 99% for each treatment). Fewer survivors knew their risks of local recurrence, distant recurrence, or developing a new CRC (69%, 77%, and 40%, respectively). Most participants reported receiving information about their cancer history and ongoing oncology visits (77% to 86% across topics). Across all topics, 93% to 99% of those who reported receiving information found the information useful. A minority of survivors reported they received information about symptoms to report to doctors, returning to work, or financial or legal issues (5% to 48% across topics), but those who did found the information useful (89% to 100% across topics).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the absence of an SCP, CRC survivors still generally understood their cancer history. However, many lacked knowledge of ongoing risks and prevention. Most survivors stated that they found the survivorship information they received useful. SCPs for CRC survivors should focus less on past care and more on helping survivors understand their risks and plan for the future.
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA salzt@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Talya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Salz
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Shrujal S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Baxi
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Victoria S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Blinder
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Elena B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Elkin
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kemeny
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: McCabe
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Chaya S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Moskowitz
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Erin E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Onstad
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Leonard B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Saltz
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Larissa K F
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Temple
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital, New York, NY; and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Kevin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Oeffinger
mesh_terms: D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D017741:Survivors