TY  - JOUR
AU  - Garwood, V
AU  - Lisy, K
AU  - Jefford, M
Y2  - 2020/11/17
Y1  - 2020/09/01
SN  - 2077-0383
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/11343/251542
AB  - Survivors of colorectal cancer (CRC) may experience a range of physical, psychosocial, and practical challenges as a consequence of their diagnosis. We assessed the patterns and documented content of follow-up visits within the first three years following treatment, in comparison to survivorship care guidelines. Survivors with stage I-III CRC who underwent curative resection at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre from July 2015 to January 2018 were followed for up to 1080 days. Patterns of follow-up were calculated by recording the date and specialty of each visit; documented content was assessed using a study-specific audit tool for the first year (360 days) of follow-up. Forty-eight survivors comprised the study population, 34 of whom (71%) attended the recommended two to four follow-up visits in their first year. Visit notes documented new symptoms (96%), physical changes (85%), physical examination (63%), and investigations (56%-90%); none had documented discussions of screening for other primary cancers, or regular health checks and/or screening. Each survivor had at least one outpatient letter that was sent to their primary care physician, but responsibilities were not adequately defined (31%). Although survivors had regular follow-up in their first year, documentation did not consistently address aspects of wider survivorship care.
LA  - English
PB  - MDPI
T1  - Survivorship in Colorectal Cancer: A Cohort Study of the Patterns and Documented Content of Follow-Up Visits
DO  - 10.3390/jcm9092725
IS  - Journal of Clinical Medicine
VL  - 9
IS  - 9
L1  - /bitstream/handle/11343/251542/PMC7563304.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
ER  -