Thanks to improved therapies, 85% of U.S. children diagnosed with cancer now survive at least five years, with more than half a million survivors in the country today. But this group faces a unique set of challenges after getting cancer treatment at a young age—including an increased risk for new cancers later in life, as well as heart, lung, brain and other complications. Survivorship care addresses these issues by screening for common health problems and treating them early, but many childhood cancer survivors never receive it. A Keck School of Medicine of USC review of more than 8,500 research publications found that barriers ranging from gaps in specialized care to emotional trauma may explain why many people with childhood cancer do not get the recommended survivorship care. For example, children with cancer are treated by pediatric oncologists in children’s hospitals. After recovery, they must seek follow-up care from a different provider—but it’s often unclear where to turn. Adding training on survivorship guidelines and care plans to medical school curricula is one key solution. In addition, specialized cancer care centers that offer survivorship care to adult patients can broaden their scope to welcome childhood cancer survivors. Survivors also miss out on care because of barriers at the personal level. Some people lack knowledge about survivorship care or hold inaccurate beliefs, including that care is not very important. Others actively avoid seeking follow-up care because of emotional trauma or distress related to getting cancer treatment at a young age. Helping survivors understand their risks and feel empowered can make them more likely to stay engaged in follow-up care, the review found. Solutions include giving patients a clear survivorship care plan and treatment summary before they leave pediatric care, along with shared decision-making tools that help patients, caregivers and providers collaboratively build the care plan. Peer mentorship programs can also support young adults as they navigate the transition from pediatric to adult care.

Canada is failing in a decades-old pledge to monitor the health of Pacific salmon, according to new research from Simon Fraser University.  

At a time when government policy is geared towards accelerating industrial development across sensitive B.C. watersheds, an SFU study published today in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences reports that monitoring of salmon spawning populations has dropped 32 per cent since Canada adopted its Wild Salmon Policy 20 years ago.