How our staff helps cancer survivors thrive  

Our many resources to help patients adapt to their new ‘normal’ after treatment

“Cancer survivor.”

This phrase, though small, packs an emotional punch.

It’s also a more commonly used term than you may think.

Today, there are 18.6 million cancer survivors in the United States, and that number is projected to grow to 26 million over the next 15 years. Due to new therapies and breakthroughs in research, cancer survivors are living longer and cancer is increasingly becoming a chronic disease that can be effectively managed.

People are considered a survivor from the time of a cancer diagnosis through the rest of their life, although their specific needs change from when they are receiving cancer treatment to after treatment.

Each cancer survivor is unique, and has their own physical, emotional and social challenges as they adjust to their new “normal” after cancer treatment. And that’s why we are dedicated to offering these patients comprehensive, survivor-focused medical and emotional support and connecting them to survivorship resources. 

We offer a Cancer Survivorship Program through the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, led by David R. Freyer, DO, MS, to meet the medical and psychosocial needs of patients who have completed intensive cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, major surgery and bone marrow transplant. Experts from many disciplines work together to help patients manage chronic symptoms, deal with impaired fertility, improve lifestyles through exercise and nutrition, and receive support for emotional challenges, financial hardship and returning to work and school.

Individualized care is key; each cancer patient receives an in-depth assessment by a survivorship physician, nurse practitioner and social worker, and is provided with a cancer treatment summary, recommendations for health monitoring and support referrals. 

We also offer specialized programs for specific types of cancer, such as the head and neck surgery survivorship program established in 2011 by Uttam Sinha, MD, director of the USC Head and Neck Center, and the breast cancer survivorship program created in 2023 led by medical oncologist Daphne Stewart, MD, with additional specialty survivorship clinics coming, including sarcoma and melanoma. 

One important aspect of our survivorship programs is peer support. Sinha often partners newly diagnosed patients with survivors who have faced similar taxing situations, such as the partial removal of the jaw or tongue or tracheotomies to support breathing. “It really helps patients to know someone else has gone through the same challenges, which may seem overwhelming when facing them on your own,” said Sinha.

Cancer center patients also have the opportunity to become cancer advocates and educators. One breast cancer survivor, Mary Aalto, is a patient advisor who collaborates with USC Norris researchers to provide the patient perspective on breast cancer research projects. Mary, a 19-year survivor of stage 3 breast cancer, also leads a series of community-facing educational events for cancer patients and survivors.

Mary finds purpose in these roles and offers inspiration to other survivors. “I am so optimistic about the future for cancer survivors because it’s getting better and better all the time,” she said. “Despite an aggressive cancer and treatment, my health is excellent. I live in gratitude every day.”

As Mary illustrates, cancer patients are living longer, healthier and happier lives. 

And I am thankful for our hard-working, compassionate staff who are doing their best to keep it that way.

Note: For more information on cancer survivorship efforts at Keck Medicine and the USC health sciences schools, please click here.

Due to new therapies and breakthroughs in research, cancer survivors are living longer and cancer is increasingly becoming a chronic disease that can be effectively managed.

Rod Hanners, CEO, Keck Medicine of USC

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