Who’s on Your Survivorship Team? Understanding Each Clinician’s Role

Survivorship care rarely rests on one clinician alone. Guidelines from NCCN, ASCO, and the Commission on Cancer emphasize that high‑quality survivorship involves multidisciplinary teams that address surveillance for recurrence, screening for new cancers, late and long‑term effects, and health promotion. Knowing who is on your team, what each person does, and who coordinates care can reduce the risk of feeling “lost in transition” after treatment ends.​

Curava can support this team by capturing your daily experiences—movement, symptoms, mood, and questions—so visits are more focused and coordinated around your real life.​

Core team members and when to contact them

Different clinicians focus on different aspects of survivorship:​

Clinician / role	Primary focus	When to contact them
Medical oncologist / oncology team	Recurrence surveillance, treatment decisions, late effects specific to your cancer and therapies	New or concerning symptoms, scan and lab follow‑up, treatment side effects
Primary care provider (PCP)	General health, comorbidities, preventive screenings, long‑term coordination	Routine check‑ups, vaccines, blood pressure/diabetes care, non‑cancer issues
Nurse practitioner / physician assistant (oncology or survivorship)	Symptom management, follow‑up survivorship visits, education	Ongoing fatigue, pain, sleep issues, or questions between oncologist appointments
Oncology nurse navigator / care coordinator	Scheduling, referrals, insurance, connecting to support services	Appointment conflicts, resource needs (transport, financial help, support groups)
Oncology dietitian	Nutrition for weight changes, energy, digestive side effects, and risk reduction	Appetite changes, GI symptoms, questions about diet and supplements
Physical / occupational therapist (rehab)	Mobility, strength, balance, lymphedema management, daily function	Difficulty with walking, falls, stiffness, weakness, or trouble with daily tasks
Social worker / psychologist / counselor	Emotional support, coping, family stress, financial or work concerns	Anxiety, depression, relationship strain, work/benefits challenges
Specialists (cardio‑oncologist, endocrinologist, etc.)	Heart, hormonal, bone, or metabolic effects of treatment	Chest pain, shortness of breath, blood sugar or thyroid changes, bone loss concerns

Not everyone will need every specialist, but knowing who is available can help when new issues arise.​

Building and clarifying your team

A few steps can help make roles clearer and reduce overlap or gaps:

• Request a survivorship care plan (SCP).

  • An SCP usually summarizes your diagnosis, treatments, potential late effects, recommended follow‑up, and lifestyle recommendations, along with which clinician is responsible for each part.​

• Ask who coordinates your survivorship care.

  • In some programs this may be your oncologist, a survivorship NP/PA, a nurse navigator, or a designated survivorship coordinator as called for in the Commission on Cancer standards.​

  • Knowing your “point person” makes it easier to route questions and concerns.

• Clarify handoffs between oncology and primary care.

  • Ask how and when some responsibilities will transition more toward your PCP and how the oncology team will stay involved, so you know who to call for what.​

Your voice matters in these conversations; sharing what you value and worry about helps shape a team that fits your needs.​

Integrating Curava into team‑based survivorship

Curava can act as a bridge between visits and clinicians, especially when you:

• Track daily experiences:

  • Use Curava to log fatigue, pain, sleep, mood, and physical activity. Over weeks and months, this creates a timeline that can reveal patterns your team may miss in short appointments.​

• Document questions as they arise:

  • When side effects flare, or new concerns about work, intimacy, or daily function show up, you can note them in the app so they are ready for your next visit.

• Share summaries:

  • Bring or send Curava summaries to oncology, primary care, or rehab visits so each clinician sees the same information—reducing duplication, gaps, and conflicting advice.​

Your clinicians remain the decision‑makers; Curava simply organizes your lived experience so they can respond more effectively.

A well‑coordinated survivorship team can help you feel less alone and more supported as you move beyond active treatment. Understanding each clinician’s role, asking who coordinates your plan, and sharing clear information through tools like Curava all make it easier for that team to work together on your behalf.