Almost everyone reading this edition of FP Essentials has provided care to patients who have undergone cancer treatment. We all also have been involved in cancer screening and diagnosis and referred patients to oncologists with the goal of providing them with the best treatment.

However, oncologists focus primarily on a patient’s cancer treatment. They do not always deal with the many other aspects of cancers survivors’ care. That is the focus of this edition.

Cancer survivors experience significant emotional distress and frequently develop depression and anxiety. They also often have difficulty maintaining adequate nutrition, with some developing overt malnutrition. Physical activity can improve outcomes for cancer survivors, but they often need guidance on how to implement a safe and effective exercise regimen. Survivors of different types of cancers, such as prostate and colorectal cancers, experience post-treatment problems specific to those cancers.

This edition of FP Essentials covers all of these issues. Section One reviews the mental health conditions and concerns that cancer survivors experience. Section Two outlines nutrition and physical activity guidelines. Section Three and Section Four review conditions and issues unique to survivors of prostate and colorectal cancers, respectively. (For information on care of breast cancer survivors, see Section Four, Breast Cancer Survivorship, in FP Essentials 496 Breast Health, September 2020.) Hopefully this edition will help you address the many aspects of cancer survivors’ care.

Barry D. Weiss, MD, FAAFP, Medical Editor
Professor, Department Family and Community Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson