The Living Well After Cancer™ Program
The University of Pennsylvania's Program for Cancer Survivors

The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania is committed to helping each cancer survivor find ways to enjoy life to the fullest. We have a nationally recognized program that focuses on the issues that survivors face, called "Living Well After Cancer™."

The LIVESTRONG™ Survivorship Center of Excellence, The Living Well After Cancer Program (LWAC) at the Abramson Cancer Center, directed by Linda A. Jacobs, PhD, RN, is a clinical, research, and education effort focused on early intervention and prevention of disease as the ultimate goal. The multidisciplinary LWAC Program currently provides care and research opportunities to cancer survivors treated at Penn, the Penn Cancer Network hospitals, and through the Living Well After Childhood Cancer™ Program, a collaborative effort between Penn and CHOP.

The LWAC Program was initially funded by a seed grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 2001. In 2007 the ACC was awarded designation as a Survivorship Center of Excellence and invited to join the LIVESTRONG™ Survivorship Center of Excellence Network, a group of eight comprehensive Cancer Centers that have been chosen over the last few years to lead the effort across the country in clinical care and research with cancer survivors of all ages.

Thanks to the funding and collaborative opportunities provided by LWAC Program's designation as a LIVESTRONG™Survivorship Center of Excellence, the Penn Program has begun three exciting initiatives:

• In collaboration with the seven other LIVESTRONG™ Survivorship Network centers, Penn will pilot the use of a comprehensive treatment summary and care plan with cancer survivors to assist them in their follow-up care as well as their possible transition from oncology care to a primary care provider.
• Working closely with the Penn Cancer Network, we will bring the treatment summary and follow-up care plan project to physicians and patients in our community hospitals. In particular, this program will focus on the needs of undeserved populations, including African-American, Hispanic, and Amish patients.
• The Living Well After Childhood Cancer Program plans to expand its efforts to transform health care services provided for childhood cancer survivors through the transition program for adult survivors of childhood cancer. This initiative will also promote collaborative research between ACC and CHOP.

How the Program Works

We work with your primary oncologist or primary care doctor and focus on medical, personal, social, and economic concerns as well as strategies for maintaining long-term health and well-being.

You will complete a questionnaire and tell us about any symptoms you are experiencing that can help to identify some of the potential late effects of your cancer treatment.

These questions will help to identify:

• Heart, thyroid, and bone density problems
• Fertility issues
• Intimacy and sexuality concerns
• Genetic risk of cancer among children or siblings
• Risk for developing another cancer
• Quality of life issues

Frequently Asked Questions About Survivorship and the Abramson Cancer Center's Living Well After Cancer™ Program

To learn about what sets us apart, visit:

• The Penn Difference
• Team Approach/Multidisciplinary Care
• About our Physicians/Staff