Reassurance in Breast Cancer Survivorship: Adriana Olivo, NP

Survivorship care plans for women with breast cancer often leave patients feeling abandoned or forgotten once their intensive treatment ends. After months or even years of frequent visits with oncologists and care teams, women suddenly find that their appointments are more spaced out, with fewer check-ins and less direct support. This shift can create uncertainty and anxiety, particularly when fears of recurrence remain strong and side effects from treatment continue.

Nurse Practitioner Adriana Olivo, who specializes in survivorship care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, works to bridge that gap. Her role focuses on guiding women through the post-treatment phase by ensuring they keep up with regular provider check-ins, managing long-term or late side effects of therapy, and providing reassurance to help ease lingering anxieties. Survivorship care, she explained, is not simply about monitoring for recurrence but about empowering women to live well beyond their diagnosis.

In an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®, Olivo highlighted how survivorship clinics increasingly incorporate decision-making tools such as the Breast Cancer Index (BCI). The BCI helps determine how long women with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer should remain on endocrine therapy, a treatment that may extend for up to 10 years.

“[The BCI] takes the guesswork out, and it really gives them the information they need to make an informed decision,” Olivo said. “It could also help avoid over- and undertreatment again because it’s not always so black and white, as the lower-risk-profile patients automatically are not going to benefit from the full 10 years.”

Together, support from clinicians like Olivo and tools like the BCI can help women feel more in control of their survivorship care. By using test results to guide decisions, patients are less likely to feel pressured by their doctors and more likely to feel confident in their choices. As Olivo emphasized, the goal is to create personalized survivorship plans that meet each woman’s unique needs—plans that provide not just medical guidance, but reassurance and empowerment as well.

References

1. Conner K. Breast cancer survivorship. Cancer Survivorship: What Is It? August 7, 2025. Accessed September 9, 2025. https://www.breastcancer.org/managing-life/cancer-survivorship