When a world class athlete or professional team sets major goals, they sit down with their coach and create a plan to achieve that goal. The coach sees the athlete for their highest potential and inspires them to begin to live that potential.

Together the athlete and the coach generate a training program to tap into existing gifts and talents and also build muscles in areas that require strengthening to achieve the goals.

When the athlete plateaus, hits a wall or momentarily loses confidence in themselves, the coach is there to support, encourage and remind the athlete who they REALLY are and what they are truly capable of.

Cancer Survivorship coaching is a revolutionary approach to working through the major challenges experienced when cancer touches your life. We define a clear picture of where you are stuck, stopped or blocked and what is holding you back from having the energy and ability to thrive.

How you view the experience can have a powerful effect on your energy level, outlook and your ability to harness the resources you need to heal and navigate the "new normal". You may not be able to change the circumstances of your cancer but you can shift how you choose to go through the experience.

For survivors who are newly diagnosed, coaching can help you overcome the sense of overwhelm and generate a plan to manage major decisions, build your support team and be empowered to take charge of your healing journey. It is also a great way to keep some balance.

It's not uncommon for the medical concerns to override all else and significantly impact quality of life and your primary relationships. Coaching helps identify potential pitfalls like this and supports you to design actions to generate a different outcome.

For post-treatment survivors, both those newly out of treatment and those years beyond who find themselves still dealing with after effects, coaching is a way to take your life back. It helps you build a bridge from where you are to where you want to be.

The experience of cancer often creates new priorities and goals for survivors. Sometimes this can leave you in a place of needing to redefine yourself. Coaching helps you to identify your core values, what you are truly committed to and how you want to invest your energy in alignment with that which matters most to you. When you do THAT you can't help but uncover a hidden source of energy and inspiration. You can read more about cancer survivorship coaching on my website athttp://www.cancersurvivorshipcoaching.com or on my guest post "You Have a Cancer What?!"athttp://bit.ly/g9gMnR. Of course, I'm happy to answer any further questions here on this site!

People transitioning from cancer patient to survivor need programs that speak to their physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs. I took advantage of counseling, rehabilatative exercise, support groups and stress reduction classes. Interestingly, survivors don't always know what programs they need because the transition is so overwhelming. That's why access to a patient navigator is crucial to their success. I know from my own experience how important my navigator was to my healing.

Thanks for asking, Debbie! As with everything, we take it one day at a time around here. My son, Zach, was 3 1/2 when I was diagnosed. Explaining the complexity of cancer to a child that age (even a very articulate one) is a daunting task. We have always chosen to be upfront. We share what we THINK is the right amount of information in a way that is clear but not demeaning, and then we answer all of his questions. We did then, and continue to do so now.

As for how HE does with it...even after all this time there are good days and bad. Most of the time he is as committed to fighting this battle as I am. He eagerly sends me off to conferences and peer review meetings, despite missing me. He gives up "our" time to let me (even help me) blog, and is part of my blog management team, writing, approving posts and researching some of the decisions I have to make for me.

Other days he hates it. He understands that after cancer we chose not to risk another pregnancy, and he still yearns for a sibling. I'm sure he quietly struggles with the time it take from us as well, though he never says it. And I think he'd be just as happy if he didn't have to CARE about all the pink in the markets come October. The level of "awareness" with which we live after cancer can be exhausting for a child.

All in all, I believe that when someone is diagnosed with cancer, it is like a ripple in a pond. It cannot help but impact everyone around them...and the closer one is to the source of the initial disturbance, the more wholly the impact on their life. He's my son; of course I think he is remarkable. But I also know that this experience has changed the course of his life forever. At a very young age, he has learned to see the world through the eyes of another, he has embraced compassion in a way that I find deeply moving, and he knows it is his task to make a difference in the world. How this has shaped him is yet another of cancer's silver linings...

A survivorship care plan includes a treatment summary and a specific plan of what needs to happen going forward.

A treatment summary should include:

• The specific diagnosis
• Tumor characteristics: grade, stage, hormonal status, and HER2 status of the tumor
• Treatment specifics: names of treatments received, dates treatments started and stopped, and toxicities
• Any breast cancer treatment still receiving (e.g., endocrine therapy or anti-HER2 therapy) and expected duration
• Potential late side effects
• Support services used
• Contact information for your cancer specialists

Essential survivorship care components include surveillance and screening guidelines for a recurrent or new cancer, interventions to address late medical and psychosocial effects of cancer therapy, a coordination plan among cancer specialists and primary care providers, including physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, and information on health and wellness activities.

1-Exercise at least half an hour a day 2-Quit Smoking 3-Avoid excessive exposure to sunlight 4-Maintaining a balanced diet and healthy and avoid all carcinogens such as fast food and all foods that contain acrylamide as French fries and Potato chips 5-Maintain a normal weight and healthy 6- Conduct tests at regular periods and consult the doctor about the vaccines available 7-Set aside time for relaxation and meditation This improves the psychological cancer patient, the psychological two-thirds of the treatment

this is rather a difficult question to answer - it not only involves innate qualities to a woman herself, but also family/friends' support, the different doctors involved in her care, nurses, social workers, patient navigators, amongst others.

A survivorship care plan includes, includes a record of all treatment received. Upon discharge from treatment, patients and their primary provider should receive a written follow-up care plan that includes; ongoing health maintenance, screening intervals and periodic testing, signs of recurrence, physical and emotional effects of treatment, recommendations for health behaviors, information on genetic counseling and testing as appropriate, information on chemoprevention, referral to specific care providers, and list of cancer related resources.

Questions to ask:
- List of medications and treatments
- Detailed plan of follow-up care
- Risk of recurrence or secondary cancers
- How to maintain health
- Possibility of short-term and long term side effects
- Resources for potential employment and insurance discrimination
- List of support groups
- Who will be monitoring care

The importance of the survivorship care plan is to assure that all providers involved in care are communicating, and that the individual patient has the information and support needed for ongoing care.

Mayo Clinic has the full complement of services for cancer survivors and at this point is still loosely organized with referrals to specialty services on an individual basis. Services include pain clinic, nutrition counseling, prevention clinic, genetic counseling, psychological counseling, and complementary and integrative therapies (such as acupuncture, massage and mind-body techniques). At Mayo Clinic, many of our patients come from other parts of the country and the world. This means that many times, our patients travel back to their home community after treatment is completed.

To assist with the transition into survivorship, in January of 2012, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center designed and is now offering a class to support cancer patients with a focus on moving forward after cancer treatment. As patients complete treatment, they are referred to attend the class along with their family members or support persons. If they are not able to attend the class, a survivorship booklet and care plan is provided to help and support them through this period. The survivorship class is designed to help:

- Learn tips for promoting a healthy lifestyle after treatment
- Discuss techniques for managing difficult emotions
- Identify potential long term or late effects of cancer treatment
- Understand the importance of becoming an active participant in follow-up care

The survivorship class addresses:

- Defining a "new sense of normal"
- Bridging the disconnect between your feelings and the expectations from others (family, friends, co-workers)
- Incorporating wellness activities into your daily routine
- Potential late side effects from treatment
- Dealing with fragile emotions, living with uncertainty and addressing the fear of recurrence
- Finding your way back to work/life balance

We are just discovering what works best for survivorship programs and resources; therefore it’s very much a work in progress. As patients are educated on the period of survivorship and what to expect, my hope is that they will be active in asking their health care team for support and resources needed.

This is my survivorship plan:
Visit your oncologist every three to six months for the first three years after the first treatment for breast cancer, every 6 to 12 months for years four and five, and every year thereafter.
Schedule a mammogram one year after your first mammogram that led to diagnosis of breast cancer, but no earlier than six months after radiotherapy. Obtain a mammogram every 12 months thereafter.
Perform a breast self-examination every month.
Schedule a gynecologic visit every year

Anytime cancer or its side effects substantially limit(s) one or more of your major life activities you are covered by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

For example, if a stock worker had surgery to remove a lump from her breast, has limited mobility until it heals and can no longer unload boxes she is covered under ADA.

Or if an executive assistant is having chemotherapy after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, is having difficulty concentrating and is experiencing fatigue, he may have to take more breaks then normal and work longer hours as a result. He is covered under the ADA.

A breakdown of how the ADA act can be used to protect you during treatment and afterwords, please check out the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/cancer.html