Cancer Survivorship and City of Hope Line
Overview
Supporting the growing number of Americans living with cancer has become one of the most urgent challenges in modern cancer care as more people live years or decades beyond a diagnosis. In response, City of Hope is setting a new standard for lifelong, research-driven survivorship care. That effort includes City of Hope Line, a national initiative inviting survivors, caregivers and loved ones to share experiences and words of encouragement.
Nearly 19 million people in the U.S. are living after cancer, yet many complete treatment without a roadmap for what comes next, despite growing evidence that lasting physical, emotional and cognitive effects can surface long after cancer care ends.
City of Hope has made long-standing investments in survivorship research and care so that survivors live longer, healthier lives after cancer treatment.
Progress: 5-year relative survival rates for all cancers combined have increased from 49% in the mid-1970s to 70%.
Projections: By 2040, the number of U.S. cancer survivors is projected to reach 26 million.
Age Factor: Although cancer is more common in older adults, about 1 in 5 survivors is under age 60.
This National Cancer Survivors Month, we’re celebrating the progress made in cancer care. We invite anyone who feels inspired to share a message of hope for those navigating a cancer diagnosis.
How to Get Involved
What would you say to someone who just heard the words, "You have cancer”?
City of Hope is giving a voice to the cancer community, inviting survivors, caregivers, clinicians and community members to share messages of hope for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis. See and hear messages of hope in the video below.
Leave a message. Hear a message.
Scan the QR code or call 626-218-4056 and press “1” to leave a message of hope or press “2” to listen to messages of hope.
City of Hope Line phone booth installations can be found at select events, hosted by City of Hope cancer centers in Los Angeles, Orange County, California, Chicago, Atlanta and Phoenix.
At City of Hope, this spirit of shared experience is further supported by long-standing investments in survivorship research and care designed to help survivors live longer, healthier lives after cancer treatment. Efforts like Day for Hope, an annual nationwide day of giving and collective action, help sustain and expand this work for people affected by cancer.
About Survivorship
At City of Hope, survivorship is not treated as a post-treatment phase. It is built into care from the moment of diagnosis and tailored to each patient’s treatment history and risk profile.
Survivorship care addresses the full range of long-term side effects that can follow cancer treatment, including heart disease, secondary cancers, fatigue, cognitive changes, infertility and emotional distress, with the goal of preventing complications and protecting quality of life over time. Treatment includes the following, which improves patient outcomes and quality of life while also reducing long-term complications and hospitalizations:
- Follow-up care and long-term monitoring
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Pain management and integrative therapies (e.g., yoga, meditation, acupuncture, art therapy)
- Nutrition counseling
- Emotional and social support
- Support groups and wellness education
- Financial, disability benefits, legal and insurance resources
- Fertility preservation and family planning support
Learn more about how City of Hope is developing a systemwide survivorship program designed to support patients from diagnosis through long‑term follow‑up.
Cancer Survivor Stories
Eighteen years since Chris Parrish was told she had six months to live, she continues to do her follow up care at City of Hope because "you just don't mess with a good thing."
Learning about the experiences of cancer survivors can help patients understand life after treatment and know what to expect.
Survivorship Resources
City of Hope’s Survivorship Guide connects patients and families to trusted resources across the system.
Information to help you and your family thrive after cancer treatment is at www.cityofhope.org/videoeducation
Experts
Pediatric hematologist-oncologist Saro Armenian, D.O., M.P.H., is the Barron Hilton Chair in Pediatrics, with expertise in pediatric cancer, epidemiology and cancer survivorship.
Rusha Bhandari, M.D., M.S., is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Populations Sciences at City of Hope.
My academic career has focused on a translational approach to elucidating the effects and mechanisms of controlled exercise therapy on cancer pathogenesis.
Anesthesiologist Andrew T. Leitner, M.D., is chair of the Department of Supportive Care Medicine and the Arthur M. Coppola Family Chair in Supportive Care Medicine.
Seth Cohen, M.D., is a urologic surgeon with a focus on female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at City of Hope's community practice sites in Newport Beach, California.