TY - JOUR T1 - Cancer survivorship: the impact on primary care JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - e763 LP - e765 DO - 10.3399/bjgp11X606771 VL - 61 IS - 592 AU - Eila K Watson AU - Peter W Rose AU - Rosie Loftus AU - Ciaran Devane Y1 - 2011/11/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/61/592/e763.abstract N2 - A cancer survivor is defined as a person living with or beyond cancer There are over 2 million people living in the UK who have been diagnosed with cancer, the majority (1.24 million) were diagnosed more than 5 years ago.1 As a result of earlier diagnosis and improved treatments, survival rates are increasing and more than 50% of patients will now survive for at least 5 years. Coupled with the growing number of new cases of cancer each year, this means that if current trends continue, the number of cancer survivors will double from 2 million to 4million in just 20 years. Extrapolation of audit data on patients with cancer in one practice (PWR) suggests that currently in a GP population of 10 000 patients there could be approximately 440 patients overall who have had a diagnosis of cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) of whom 275 are at least 5 years from diagnosis. The burden on primary care is significant and will continue to increase.Although survival rates continue to increase, there is no doubt that a diagnosis of cancer can have significant adverse effects (physical, psychological, social, and financial) on both patients and their families (Box 1). Some patients also experience long-term effects of treatment (side effects present during primary curative treatment which persist) or late effects (effects which appear some time — months or even years — after primary treatment has ended). Some people will also be living with incurable cancer but are not yet in the last 12 months of life. Primary care is well placed to address these issues and to minimise future ill health for people living with or beyond cancer. However, this will need a change in emphasis to more proactive and structured care. This article will describe the key issues for primary … ER -