Consistent Follow-Up Strengthens Breast Cancer Survivorship Care: Jennifer Sheng, MD

Survivorship care and patient follow-up, being pivotal to managing treatment plans for patients with breast cancer, were key topics of discussion at a recent Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event in Washington, DC.

The panel, titled “Targeted Success: Operationalizing Therapies in Breast Cancer,” addressed key operational and workflow challenges upon integrating targeted therapies. More specifically, it educated patients and providers on the principles of survivorship and lifestyle intervention, as they rely heavily on consistent and thorough follow-up to ensure patient satisfaction and overall wellness.

“There are many lifestyle components that are critical to address, and not just in terms of how they could be changed with any of our treatments that we're recommending, but also how to better manage them in terms of resources, whether they're in-person institutional resources or external resources,” panelist Jennifer Sheng, MD, assistant professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^®.

Patients can often experience chronic conditions following treatment, like neuropathy, weight gain, cardiometabolic risks, and cardiovascular risks, Sheng explained. But by focusing on lifestyle management like patients’ sleep, diet, and exercise, providers are better positioned to combat sequelae through open communication and follow-up.

Two things Sheng said could be really helpful: setting realistic expectations for patients and providing them with all the necessary educational materials.

“The first thing is making sure they have the educational tools that they need to make an informed decision,” she said. “The second piece is making sure that there is consistent follow-up for patients, [and] that isn't always with a medical oncologist or a provider.”

For example, patients who receive bloodwork every few weeks after starting chemotherapy may follow up with a nurse navigator. These check-ins keep patients’ care teams informed of their progress and allow them to review laboratory results together, either in-person or via telemedicine.

“Those touchpoints are so important,” Sheng said. “Making sure that patients feel like they can communicate and report [their symptoms] is really important.”