Survivorship

Summary

The term survivor has been applied to people who have endured diverse traumatic or life-threatening experiences ranging from sexual abuse to airplane crashes and wars. In the past 25 years, the term has also been applied to those diagnosed with cancer, an illness that once claimed the lives of most who were diagnosed with it, but which many now survive because of treatment advances. This entry addresses the social-work profession’s involvement with cancer survivorship as one example of survivorship. Social workers encounter cancer survivors in every practice arena, including hospitals and palliative-care programs as well as schools, correctional facilities, and mental-health clinics. They conduct research and provide education about the psychosocial impact of cancer and also provide counseling and advocacy. With their focus on strengths and resilience and their range of skills and knowledge about the biopsychosocial impact of life-threatening and traumatic experiences, social workers are uniquely positioned to assist survivors in adjustment to survivorship and in restoring well-being through micro, mezzo, and macro systems interventions.