American Cancer Society Guidelines for Cancer Survivors
The American Cancer Society has created guidelines for the care of people with cancer, including survivorship care guidelines for specific cancer types and nutrition and physical activity guidelines. Here you'll find complete versions of the guidelines, patient-friendly information about them, and an explanation of how ACS develops its recommendations.
How the Guidelines Are Created
The ACS cancer survivorship care guidelines address surveillance for recurrence in specific cancers, screening for second primary cancers, assessment and management of physical and psychosocial long-term and late effects of cancer and its treatment, health promotion, and care coordination and practice implications. The cancer survivorship care guidelines development process aligns closely with the ACS cancer screening guidelines process.
The ACS nutrition and physical activity guideline for cancer survivors is intended for people with cancer during and after treatment, whether they are disease free or have stable disease. Recommendations address anthropometric parameters, physical activity, diet, and alcohol intake for reducing cancer recurrence and mortality.
The guidelines are developed by multidisciplinary expert workgroups specializing in the care and management of people with cancer before, during, and after treatment. The guidelines build upon available evidence from the current literature on cancer, its treatments and effects; diet and physical activity; existing surveillance, screening, and symptom management guidelines; and standard clinical practice.
The Need
People with cancer face potential physical, psychosocial, practical, spiritual, or information challenges that can begin at diagnosis and persist through treatment and beyond. Due to early detection through screening and the availability of improved treatments, more people are surviving cancer, and many experience long-term or late effects of cancer and its treatment. The various guidelines developed to address the needs of people with cancer address nutrition and physical activity, surveillance for recurrence, screening for second primary cancers, assessment and management of physical and psychosocial long-term and late effects of cancer and its treatment, health promotion, and care coordination and practice implications.
Current Guidelines
Survivorship Care Guidelines
The American Cancer Society has developed cancer survivorship care guidelines for the care of people with cancer who often experience physical and psychosocial long-term and late effects of cancer and its treatment. The guidelines reflect current evidence and expert consensus to help primary care clinicians and other health care professionals provide comprehensive clinical follow-up care, including health promotion and care coordination for adults who have completed treatment for breast, colorectal, prostate, and head and neck cancers.
- American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline
- American Cancer Society Colorectal Cancer Survivorship Care Guidelines
- American Cancer Society Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline
- American Cancer Society Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care Guidelines
Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines for Cancer Survivors
People with cancer are often highly motivated to seek information about food choices, physical activity, and dietary supplements that can help them manage treatment side effects and improve treatment outcomes, quality of life, and overall survival. The American Cancer Society has developed a guideline summarizing the evaluation of scientific evidence and best clinical practices by a group of experts in nutrition, physical activity, and cancer survivorship.