Increasing Cancer Survivorship Knowledge Through Individualized Cancer Survivorship Packets

This project was developed with the aim of formulating an individualized educational packet that would improve patients’ knowledge of their initial cancer diagnosis and provide additional information to facilitate a smooth transition from treatment to remission. Using a pretest and posttest, quantitative data was collected pertaining to 10 different types of patient education. The pretest survey collected eight questions that related to gathering information about their cancer diagnosis, resources, and knowledge level. The DNP Project Leader secured a Cancer Survivorship Guide through the American Society of Clinical Oncology that was added to the initial cancer survivorship education for all patients. The packet included baseline information about the topics. Results found that patients’ knowledge increased slightly with regard to nutrition, cancer diagnosis disease process, limitations in daily living, emotional coping with diagnosis, and communication with friends and family about the diagnosis. Furthermore, it is possible that the sample size of six participants was too small to observe any statistically significant differences, thus more research would be needed to better understand the impact that the Cancer Survivorship Guide has on patients’ knowledge levels