2009 Grant Awards Course

	19th Annual National Interdisciplinary Breast Center Conference March 14-18, 2009 Specialized Pre-Conference Sessions March 14 & 15 Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas, NV

Survivorship Symposium Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:30 - 5:00 PM

As professionals have brought their expanding clinical knowledge base and their compassion forward on behalf of improving care for women with breast cancer over the years, we have been rewarded by women’s acknowledgement of the value of these changes and improvements. However, sitting back on the laurels of advances in diagnostics, surgery, adjuvant therapies, and even in patient navigation is not enough. It is time, as acknowledged by the Institute of Medicine, that the healthcare community deal with the shift in caring needs as our patients move from “cancer patient” to “cancer survivor” and not leave them “lost in transition”. This NCBC Survivorship Symposium has been planned to offer an intensive into the world of cancer survivorship. Lectures and discussions will focus on many of the vital life issues that survivors face and with which they grapple. For this session, NCBC brings together experts in these domains and book-ends these meaningful educational forays with an overview with which to begin a look at an example of a program at session end with which health care providers and programs can help our patients, who count on us to “be there for them” and to do the right things as they continue their journey into survivorship.

12:30 – 1:00 PM Breast Cancer Survivorship: Past, Present and Future Julia Rowland, PhD With advances in early detection, treatment effectiveness and supportive care, the number of breast cancer survivors is steadily growing. However, surviving cancer long-term brings with it, however, unique physical, emotional, social and economic demands. These can affect a woman’s future function and quality of life. This session will provide an overview of the history of breast cancer survivorship, what the research and survivors themselves are telling us, and the opportunities being created to enhance the length and quality of survival for women diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer.

1:00 – 1:30 PM What Now: Followup Guidelines After Breast Cancer Treatment John L. Bell, MD, FACS Women with breast cancer are often told to resume their life as if nothing had happened to them, but the time of transition from cancer treatment to followup can be a period of heightened psychological distress. Educating providers and patients as to how they will be followed is critical to alleviating the anxiety and will be discussed.

1:30 – 2:00 PM What Was I Doing Again: Cognitive Function Following Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Catherine Jansen, RN, PhD, OCN® Women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer often complain of changes in cognitive function which, in turn, have a profound impact on their quality of life. However, the evidence for chemotherapy induced cognitive changes is inconsistent. The purpose of this session is to review the state of the science and evidence-based information regarding key aspects in chemotherapy-induced cognitive changes in breast cancer patients. A brief overview of cognitive function will be provided as a beginning framework. This will be followed by a review of recent studies of chemotherapy induced cognitive changes in breast cancer patients, along with current evidence for interventions to manage cognitive impairments.

2:00 – 2:30 PM Addressing Sex and Intimacy: I am a Sexy Breast Cancer Survivor Michael Krychman, MD, FACOG This lecture will address etiology of sexual complaints, sexual health assessment and treatment overview while focusing on the multifaceted treatment healthcare team.

2:30 – 3:00 PM Adjusting to Life as a Survivor: Stress and Coping Across the Journey Julia Rowland, PhD Adaptation to cancer does not end when treatment stops. Making the transition to recovery and beyond brings multiple stressors. Finding a ‘new normal,’ managing persistent effects of illness, managing uncertainty, and anticipating and establishing plans to minimize threats to future health must be negotiated. This session will outline the psychological challenges to living fully after breast cancer and techniques to address these.

3:00 – 3:30 PM Fatigue Following Breast Cancer Therapy: Don’t Take it Lying Down Bernardine Pinto, PhD Cancer-Related Fatigue (CRF) is the most common problem reported by cancer survivors. It is considered to be one of the most distressing sequela that affects survivors’ quality of life. Patients frequently report that CRF worsens during treatment and persists months and even years after treatment completion. CRF can affect survivors’ physiological functioning, mood, cognitive and social functioning. With improvements in treatments and improved survival, the adverse impact of CRF is accentuated. This presentation will focus on management of CRF with special emphasis on non-pharmacological approaches including exercise interventions.

3:30 – 4:15 PM Modeling a Cancer Survivorship Program at Your Center Penny Damaskos, LCSW This presentation will provide an overview of a compressive survivorship counseling program. The model presented is based on an established, extensive counseling program but is applicable to multiple environments. Contents of the program will be discussed as well as how it fits within a larger survivorship program that encompasses medical follow up and research. Development of groups, maximizing resources and theoretical underpinnings for counseling program will be discussed.

4:15 – 5:00 PM Questions and Answers, Concluding Remarks

Register early! Last year pre-conference courses were full 30 days prior to the conference.