Follow-up patterns of cancer survivors: a survey of Canadian radiation oncologists Allison Y. Ye & Winson Y. Cheung & Karen J. Goddard & Daniel Horvat & Robert A. Olson Received: 10 March 2014 /Accepted: 22 July 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract Purpose With continual advancements in cancer care, im- proved outcomes, and increasing survivors, survivorship has become an important area of research. This project seeks to determine the current status of follow-up care in oncology. Methods An electronic survey was sent to the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology members. Based on brief clinical scenarios pertaining to various survivor populations, questions were posed to determine routine follow-up practices. Results One hundred eleven radiation oncologists (RO) responded (44 % response rate); 29 % were female, 43 % were in practice <10 years, and most of Canada was repre- sented. Most worked in centers with >10 oncologists (69 %) and saw >200 new consults per year (78 %). Only 10 % reported not following their patients routinely, mainly in those with breast cancer. Most would follow their central nervous system, gastrointestinal, head and neck, gynecologic, and genitourinary patients. Lack of resources and a belief that follow-up by family physicians (FPs) is equally effective were the top reasons for not following. Treatment toxicity and possibility of further treatment were the most common reasons for routine follow-up. The majority (55 %) would follow patients for <5 years, with 36 % for 5–10 years, and a minority (9 %) for longer than 10 years; 54 % would not change the frequency of follow-up, but 39 % would decrease and only 7 % would increase follow-up. Some felt transferring more care to other health professionals would require additional training and more guidelines. Survivorship care plans are underutilized. Conclusions Transfer of follow-up care to FPs is desired and feasible. This would allow for more comprehensive medical care and improve access to care for newly diagnosed patients. The development and usage of survivorship care plans would improve this care. Implications for cancer survivors Survivors may be increas- ingly followed by family physicians. Better coordination bet- ween oncologists and family physicians, including the use of survivorship care plans, may facilitate this transition. Keywords Radiation oncology . Follow-up . Survivorship . Physician survey . Patterns of practice Introduction With continual advancements in cancer care, improved out- comes, and increasing survivor populations, cancer survivor- ship has become an important area of research. A report by the Institute of Medicine identified four essential components of survivorship care: (1) prevention and detection of new cancers and recurrent cancer; (2) surveillance for cancer spread, recur- rence, or second cancers; (3) intervention for consequences of cancer and its treatment; and (4) coordination between spe- cialists and primary care providers to ensure that all of the A. Y. Ye : K. J. Goddard Department of Radiation Oncology, Vancouver Cancer Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada W. Y. Cheung Department of Medical Oncology, Vancouver Cancer Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada D. Horvat Northern Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada R. A. Olson (*) Department of Radiation Oncology, Center for the North, British Columbia Cancer Agency, 1215 Lethbridge Street, Prince George, British Columbia V2N 7E9, Canada e-mail: rolson2@bccancer.bc.ca J Cancer Surviv DOI 10.1007/s11764-014-0390-2