Vaginal Cancer Survivorship Support Services
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Survivorship Support for Vaginal Cancer Patients
Studies have shown that a significant percentage of cancer survivors deal with chronic health problems that may be related to their cancer treatment. You may be worried about recurrence of your vaginal cancer, or you may experience long-term or late side effects of treatment, such as chronic pain, fatigue, cognitive impairment or depression. You may also have concerns about fertility or sexual function.
At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), we believe in proactively planning for these long-term concerns. We developed our Survivorship Support program to continue to support you and provide you with options to cope with issues you may experience after leaving our hospital. In some cases it’s as simple as education that teaches you to cope with a potential side effect of vaginal cancer treatment, like hot flashes. Other times, we’ll conduct more in-depth research to identify available options and how they might fit your needs.
Promoting optimal health begins with your first visit. After a thorough self-assessment is taken to obtain a baseline measurement of how you are feeling and which side effects you are experiencing, the Survivorship Support team begins planning for all issues related to your upcoming vaginal cancer treatment.
Addressing Fertility and Sexual Function Concerns
Vaginal cancer can affect fertility and sexual function for some women. We will work with you to discuss fertility options from the beginning of treatment. We can refer you to fertility providers and clinics in your hometown, and discuss a variety of fertility procedures.
We’ll also work with you to address your sexual function concerns during and after vaginal cancer treatment. Challenges such as vaginal dryness, low libido and pain during intercourse can result after treatment. We provide a variety of prescription and non-prescription options to improve sexual function, as well as counseling for intimacy issues.
Continued Care from a Distance
Because it may not always make logistical or financial sense for our patients to travel to CTCA for post-treatment care, we have more than 1,500 “Care Partners” throughout the United States. These practitioners are familiar with CTCA and our philosophy of patient-centered care. They work with us to improve the lives of our patients. Our community care partners throughout the country include: oncologists, internists, chiropractors, family physicians, physical therapists, massage therapists and psychologists.
Every patient has a choice about whether or not to participate in the Survivorship Support Program. If you choose not to participate and change your mind later, you can always join the program at any time in the future.
The Survivorship Support team at CTCA is trained by the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Survivorship Program. The team serves on the NCI’s panel and assists other medical institutions across the country in developing their survivorship programs.
