Survivorship in Head and Neck Cancer: A Primer

Abstract

Survivors of cancer and cancer-directed therapies may encounter substantial medical, psychosocial, interpersonal, financial, and functional consequences. The collective experience of being a cancer survivor has been dubbed survivorship. As a unique discipline, cancer survivorship has garnered much attention in recent years. However, its constructs have yet to be formally introduced or applied to head and neck oncology. Recognizing this, the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) has convened a committee on survivorship. The concept of survivorship is reviewed and placed into historical perspective to identify current gaps in head and neck survivor care and to provide a roadmap for future initiatives in survivorship care and research.