ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the educator and the learner can develop their understanding of this new topic of survivorship within the context of cancer care and academic rigour. For the majority of cancers, a higher proportion of women than men survive for at least 5 years after diagnosis. The 5-year survival rate for all cancers diagnosed in the early 1990s was 36% for men and 49% for women. Age is also an important factor. Quality of life is always a fairly contentious area. Some would say that you can only consider quality of life when there is life. Therefore there is an argument that the experiences and treatments associated with cancer only have long-term sequelae if the patient survives. There are a number of teaching strategies which can be implemented for this topic area. It is a subject that lends itself to a range of opportunities for interactive student involvement, the inclusion of the personal experience, reflection and biological exploration.
