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There are more cancer survivors today than ever before and their needs begin from the date of diagnosis throughout the lifespan. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is here for you.
From the moment of diagnosis, patients and caregivers can reach out to an Information Specialist to receive disease and treatment information, access to resources, and support for managing the various changes of a “new normal”. This first step of getting in touch with LLS helps you connect to the Clinical Trial Support Center and explore novel treatment options and access clinical trials, the Nutrition Education Services Center (available to all patients with any cancer diagnosis) for dietary education and support, publications, education programming, and more!
To meet the ongoing survivorship needs of patients and their caregivers, LLS has developed a series of survivorship workbooks. The Survivorship Workbook for Children and Adolescents helps parents track information and obtain resources specific to the needs of their children and teens. The Survivorship Workbook for Young Adults includes information about the unique needs of patients transitioning from adolescence into adulthood including fertility, insurance, school/work, dating and relationships, and late effects. The Survivorship Workbook for Adults provides a guide for collecting information about disease and treatment shared by healthcare providers, tracking side effects, managing finances, and long-term management of cancer. The workbooks are offered for free, like all LLS resources, in print and downloadable, editable PDF formats.
Connection with others is a key component of survivorship care. LLS offers online chats, LLS Community, peer-to-peer support, and regional support groups as safe spaces for patients and caregivers to offer and receive support from others who have had similar experiences.
Survivorship care also includes identifying physical and mental health issues that may arise following diagnosis and treatment. In addition to the resources already mentioned, LLS offers the LLS Health ManagerTM app to track eating, medication, side effects along with reporting that can be shared with your treatment team. Booklets like Managing Stress and the Write It Out Journal can help patients and caregivers identify symptoms of anxiety and depression and access ways to cope with them.
Healthcare professionals also benefit from access to free resources that may help their patients along with survivorship-related continuing education courses so that they may navigate the survivorship experience alongside their patients and caregivers. LLS also makes it easy to refer patients with an online Patient Referral Form.