The evolution of cancer into a health condition increasingly compatible with long-term survival has profoundly transformed the care needs of individuals, families and health systems. Advances in prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment have improved clinical outcomes; however, they have also revealed new challenges related to quality of life, functional recovery, the management of physical and emotional sequelae, continuity of care, and attention to those living with cancer as a chronic condition.
Contemporary oncology care has moved beyond an exclusively biomedical approach to incorporate dimensions related to the illness experience, well-being, the active participation of individuals in decisions about their health, and the construction of more comprehensive, interdisciplinary, person- and family-centered models of care. In this context, concepts such as survivorship, quality of life, comprehensive care, humanization, innovation and evidence-based practice have gained growing relevance both in research and in clinical and community settings.
The symposium “The Evolution of Oncology Care: Science, Humanity, Innovation and Survivorship” is proposed as a space for academic discussion and exchange on the changes that have marked cancer care over the past decades. The symposium will address topics related to the transformation of oncology care, survivorship and quality of life, the emerging challenges of the chronic oncology patient, person- and family-centered models of care, continuity of care, and the incorporation of innovation and scientific evidence into care processes.
Across the Americas, a significant research agenda has been consolidated aimed at understanding and improving the experience of people living with and surviving cancer. Various studies conducted in the region have generated evidence on quality of life, the physical and psychosocial effects of the disease, comprehensive care, continuity of care, the needs of patients and families, and interdisciplinary models of oncology care. Likewise, academic institutions and research networks have contributed to the development of knowledge aimed at reducing inequities in access to services and strengthening more humanized and sustainable responses to the challenges of cancer.
At the Pontifical Bolivarian University, particularly through the Master’s Program in Oncology Nursing, there is a track record of training and research that has fostered the generation of evidence related to the comprehensive care of people with cancer, quality of life, the experiences of patients and families, symptom management and evidence-based clinical practice. These contributions, together with the region’s scientific developments, support the relevance of an academic space that promotes the exchange of research, innovative experiences and care strategies aimed at strengthening oncology care and contributing to the construction of more equitable, humanized health systems centered on people’s needs.
