Medical
Know Your Medical History | Your Medical Care After Cancer | Potential Late Effects | Fertility
Your Medical Care After Cancer
It is important to maintain oncology follow-up visits, yearly physicals, and other examinations to maintain good health. About two years following completion of treatment, your status will change from ‘cancer patient’ to ‘cancer survivor.’
Follow-up care may include routine check-ups with other subspecialists, as well as annual visits to a late-effects clinic. Going to a late-effects clinic has several benefits. You’ll get access to a multidisciplinary team at a major medical center, receive comprehensive care in one setting and participate in research studies that will benefit future cancer patients and survivors. Whether you go to a late-effects clinic or to your primary physician, make sure your physician is assessing your current health status, tracking your progress on previously identified problems and screening for new problems.
You can also develop a Late-Effects Assessment of potential medical and educational late effects specific to your diagnosis and treatment. If you are not attending a late-effects clinic, make sure your physician is aware of the long-term follow-up guidelines recommended by the Children’s Oncology Group. These can be found at www.survivorshipguidelines.org.
Here are some things to keep in mind about medical appointments:
- Share all your medical history with any new doctor or other medical provider.
- Ask any questions you may have about potential late effects of treatment. Keeping several written copies of medical-treatment summaries will make this process easier.
- Share any concerns you have and discuss any physical changes you have noticed. This might lead the doctor to order other tests. Remember that no concern of yours is too small.
- Make sure your annual medical checkup includes:
- A complete physical examination, including blood count, urinalysis and other recommended tests.
- Screening for breast, cervical (female) and colorectal cancers.
- Monitoring for conditions that may arise from your particular treatment.
- After reviewing your diagnosis and treatment with you, your physician may recommend additional tests.
In addition to getting annual physical examinations, you should practice preventative healthcare. This includes regular dental care and undergoing any tests relevant to your diagnosis. As examples, radiation therapy delivered around the eyes or long-term steroid use can lead to cataracts, so you might need yearly vision examinations; hearing might be affected if you received ototoxic medications like cisplatin, so you should be monitored for hearing loss on a regular basis. Certain chemotherapy drugs can lead to osteoporosis, a disease of the skeleton that results bone loss, so you may need to take Vitamin D and calcium supplements to minimize this risk.