Sciotto Francesco, Py Céline, Tsantoulis Petros
Service d'oncologie, Département d'oncologie, HUG, 1211 Genève 14.
Rev Med Suisse. 2017 May 17;13(563):1044-1048.
Improvements in diagnosis and treatments explain the notable increase in patients chronically affected or recovering from cancer. This is a fragile population, who is physically, psychologically and socially affected by the consequences of the disease and the associated treatments. In addition to detecting a possible relapse, oncologists and primary care physicians have to deal with a variety of issues like psychological distress, sexual dysfunction, cardiotoxicity, cognitive impairment, fatigue and, in some cases, a second primary cancer. This is a real challenge for modern medical oncology, with an important financial impact. A long-term structured follow-up could improve the management of patients with a history of cancer and favour their physical recovery and psychosocial integration.