Conference Abstracts - Summit on Cancer Health Disparities (SCHD26)
Vol. 6, Issue Supplement 1, 2026 · S1-3
Breaking Barriers to Survivorship Clinic: Insights from Breast Cancer Providers
Inderpreet Bal, MD,Angela Usher, PhD,Mili Arora, MD
Submission received: 2025-12-14 / Accepted: 2026-01-07 / Published: 2026-01-26
Abstract
Background
Breast cancer survivorship continues to rise, with five-year overall survival in the United States approaching 93% and ten-year survival nearing 87%. Simultaneously, the incidence of breast cancer has increased, with the average U.S. woman now facing a lifetime risk of approximately 13.1%. These trends highlight a widening care gap and underscore the growing need for comprehensive support services for breast cancer survivors. Although the concept of survivorship-focused clinics is well established, such models remain underutilized in many settings.
Methods and Results
This study examined the UC Davis Breast Cancer Survivorship Clinic, which began serving patients on March 13, 2025. Over a nine-month period, the clinic provided care to 45 survivors. To assess provider perspectives, a survey was distributed to breast cancer focused clinicians at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. All respondents had referred at least one patient to the survivorship clinic, and all had learned additional information about the long-term effects of breast cancer treatment within the past five years.
The most common referral trigger was sexual or fertility dysfunction followed by patient-initiated requests and psychosocial distress. However, only 67% of providers indicated they strongly agreed that they had the ability to identify patients appropriate for survivorship referral. 83% expressed interest in further education about the clinic and its services as they believe that survivorship programs improve the lives of their patients.
Conclusion
Existing literature supports this perception, demonstrating that survivorship clinics can improve adherence to surveillance recommendations and maintenance endocrine therapy. Although the sample size of this single-center study was limited (n=6), these findings suggest that further exploration of oncology provider perspectives is warranted. Enhancing provider knowledge and confidence may help increase the utilization of survivorship clinics and ultimately improve long-term outcomes for breast cancer survivors.