Life after Cancer

In many of our conversations with cancer survivors, the end of treatment is regarded as one of the times of greatest anxiety. Although it is a positive moment, it is natural to have some concerns.

Share your worries with your clinical team so they can counsel you. There are more and more resources available to make you feel more secure and confident in this new phase.

Focus on quality of life

Great strides in improving drugs have allowed patients to live longer, but these therapies also bring their own toxicities. Even though these may be lower than previous drugs, some side effects can have medium or long-term effects on the quality of life of patients or survivors.

In older patients, there are still concerns about the benefit of therapies to be used. Current medicine allows people to live longer, but over the age of 80 they experience many weaknesses, so quality of life should not be compromised.

Your post-cancer monitoring plan

There are well-defined international protocols for periodic clinical monitoring of cancer survivors. At the end of your treatment, your attending physician will prepare you for this stage and recommend a healthy lifestyle and ways of screening for possible cancer recurrences.

Your plan may include:

• Reviewing your medical history
• Physical examinations
• Assessing and helping to solve any treatment-related problems
• Advice on exercise and nutrition
• Recommendations for secondary prevention, i.e. prevention of cancer recurrence
• Referral to other specialists or other resources in this phase, for example for cardio-oncology or physical rehabilitation.