Primary Care: Filling the Gap for Stage I & II Early Stage Breast Cancer Follow-up

With earlier detection, more women are being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and these women all need follow-up care. Simultaneously, there are concerns about a projected shortage in the work force of oncology specialists to care for these patients. Primary care providers can fill the gap for early stage breast cancer follow-up care. However, primary care professional practice organizations have previously not addressed breast cancer follow-up. The American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends that breast cancer follow-up care can be provided by a primary care provider, as long as the primary care provider has spoken to the oncologist about appropriate follow-up care. A randomized control trial showed similar outcomes in breast cancer recurrence regardless if the patient followed up with primary care or a cancer center specialist. Studies highlight that follow-up care with a primary care provider yields high patient satisfaction and is cost effective. The purpose of this project is to provide primary care providers with knowledge of the NCCN Guidelines for early stage breast cancer follow-up. The NCCN Guidelines are considered to be the gold standard by breast cancer specialists for breast cancer treatment and follow-up. With knowledge of the NCCN Guidelines, primary care providers can fill the gap for follow-up care of early stage breast cancer patients. The objectives for the project included: 1) Identify guidelines for early stage breast cancer follow-up that the non- oncologist can adopt 2) Identify appropriate audiences of primary providers to care for stage I & II post cancer treatment patients in planning to disseminate the guidelines 3) Create and submit a manuscript for publication based on evidence based/consensus-driven practice guidelines 4) Disseminate information about the project locally. Implementation and evaluation of this project was completed by submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health.