10 Common Followup Cancer Care Questions From Survivors

For cancer patients and families where they’ve conquered such a terrible condition, the next step in the journey is developing a personalized follow-up care plan to manage the possibility of cancer recurrence.   In this post, we outline 10 key questions that many patients have asked during the follow-up care phase.

Though every patient is different, two common objectives in the struggle of “life after cancer” include: (1) managing the possibility of recurrence and (2) returning to normalcy.   In reviewing real questions recommended by cancer survivors across multiple support groups, we found the following 10 questions to be repeatedly considered when engaging their oncologists and nurses:

1. Which doctors should I see and how often should I schedule a routine visit?
2. What follow-up tests do I need, if any and how often do I need to perform these tests?
3. What symptoms do I need to watch out for?
4. How should I adjust my lifestyle that’s right for me?
5. Can we discuss ways to monitor any long-term effects of my cancer treatment?
6. What options are available to me to relieve pain, fatigue, or other problems following my cancer treatment?
7. How long will it take me to recover and feel more like myself?
8. What resources are available to me to help me pay for my cancer treatment?
9. What support groups are available to me to help me begin this new life?
10. What should I do to maintain my social and emotional well-being?

In addition to these questions, most patients and support groups have recommended that being organized when it comes to their medical and treatment history, surgeries, tests, financial bills, and experienced side effects have been extremely helpful when developing their follow-up care plan.

Crafting a personalized follow-up care plan with your oncologist, nurse and primary caregivers is extremely important when managing the potential of cancer recurrence.  When discussing these questions, we recommend taking notes, having a caregiver help take notes or tape-recording the discussion.  It will be a good idea to review these notes at a later time.

Other follow-up services which may be helpful to survivors may include: support groups, couples counseling, genetic counseling, fertility/sexual counseling, home care services, nutrition counseling, physical therapy, pain management and occupational therapy.  When considering these services, it’s important to also find out the specific eligibility requirements for these services.

The life-after-cancer journey is not a easy one, but fortunately, there are several available resources and services to support you in leading a new life.