The Fort Worth Program for Community Survivorship (ProComS) completes the cancer care continuum by offering ongoing, longitudinal care for all of our city’s cancer survivors, especially the traditionally underserved and medically disadvantaged. Survivorship services exist in Fort Worth, but they are fragmented, uncoordinated and suffer from a lack of awareness outside certain informational streams. ProComS intends to unify the survivorship service providers under a common framework, creating an innovative, community-led, grassroots initiative.

The cornerstone of ProComS will be the creation of a survivorship clinic, with enrollment open to any cancer patient who is within 60 days of ...

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The Fort Worth Program for Community Survivorship (ProComS) completes the cancer care continuum by offering ongoing, longitudinal care for all of our city’s cancer survivors, especially the traditionally underserved and medically disadvantaged. Survivorship services exist in Fort Worth, but they are fragmented, uncoordinated and suffer from a lack of awareness outside certain informational streams. ProComS intends to unify the survivorship service providers under a common framework, creating an innovative, community-led, grassroots initiative.

The cornerstone of ProComS will be the creation of a survivorship clinic, with enrollment open to any cancer patient who is within 60 days of transitioning out of primary active treatment. The clinic will utilize a four-step process for successful operations: 1) identify the survivors, 2) recruit the survivors, 3) enroll the survivors, and 4) engage the survivors. The ProComS clinic will be staffed by an advanced practice nurse, a survivor navigator, an outreach nurse and a clinic assistant. All clinic staff will be bilingual. The clinic will operate on a psychosocial model, placing the primary focus on psychosocial and behavioral needs and the promotion of healthy behaviors for the cancer patient.

When a survivor enrolls in ProComS and visits the clinic, he or she will receive a thorough assessment of his/her physical and psychosocial health. That assessment will aid the clinic staff in designing a survivor care plan tailored especially to meet those unique needs. The plan will include ongoing cancer surveillance recommendations and referrals to survivorship services offered by local providers. The services to which ProComS will refer have been unified under the common framework of this program, and examined through the lens of best practices and complete accessibility. This rigorous vetting process assures that evidence-based services will be offered to ProComS’ participants and that potential barriers to participation have been removed.

Subsequent clinic visits will include the same attention to the survivor’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing, as well as reassessments and adjustments to the care plan. Survivors will benefit from the ongoing engagement of the Survivor Navigator. Fulfilling the clinic’s commitment to a psychosocial model, a focused interest in the survivor’s quality of life, distress level, and behavior concerning dietary and exercise habits will be included in the clinic protocol. Measurements of these four elements will be taken at pre-determined intervals and the results will provide valuable insight into the degree of personal adjustments required by the survivor to effect positive lifestyle habits.

As a result of CPRIT funding, ProComS will become an established and invaluable addition to Fort Worth’s cancer care continuum. ProComS has the potential to effectively touch a large percentage of local households, eventually leading to a healthier city.

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