After your treatment has finished, it is important to have regular appointments with your cancer specialists, cancer nurse or GP to monitor your health, manage any long-term side effects from treatment and check that the cancer hasn’t come back or spread. Sometimes it may seem hard to attend appointments, but it is worth the effort.
Learn more about:
- Your cancer treatment summary
- Telehealth appointments
- Survivorship care plans
- Common questions about follow-up
- Who do I see for follow-up care?
- Preparing for appointments
- Managing anxiety before check-ups
- Joining a clinical trial
Your cancer treatment summary
Ask your cancer specialist or nurse for a written summary of your cancer and treatment. They should also send a copy to your GP and other health care providers. This summary should include:
- the cancer type and features
- date of diagnosis
- test results and staging information
- overview of cancer treatment (types and dates).
Telehealth appointments
You may be able to have some appointments with your health professionals at home over a video link or on the phone. This is known as telehealth. It can reduce the number of times you need to travel to appointments. This may be particularly helpful if you live in a rural or regional area and have to travel a long way for appointments.
Although telehealth can’t replace all face-to-face appointments, you can use it to talk about a range of issues including test results, prescriptions and side effects.
For more information, talk to your treatment team, read our Telehealth for Cancer Patients and Carers fact sheet (also available in other languages) or call 13 11 20.
→ READ MORE: Survivorship care plans
More resources
Prof Michael Jefford, Medical Oncologist and Director, Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Lucy Bailey, Nurse Counsellor, Cancer Council Queensland; Philip Bullas, Consumer; Dr Kate Gunn, Clinical Psychologist and Senior Research Fellow, Department of Rural Health, University of South Australia, SA; Rosemerry Hodgkin, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Prof David Joske, Clinical Haematologist, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Clinical Professor of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, WA; Kim Kerin-Ayres, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Cancer Survivorship, Concord Hospital, NSW; Sally Littlewood, Physiotherapist, Seymour Health, VIC; Georgina Lohse, Social Worker, GV Health, VIC; Melanie Moore, Exercise Physiologist and Clinical Supervisor, University of Canberra Cancer Wellness Clinic, ACT; June Savva, Senior Clinician Dietitian, Nutrition and Dietetics, Monash Cancer Centre, Monash Health, VIC; Dr Elysia Thornton-Benko, Specialist General Practitioner and Research Fellow, University of New South Wales, NSW; Prof Janette Vardy, Medical Oncologist, Concord Cancer Centre and Professor of Cancer Medicine, The University of Sydney, NSW; Lyndell Wills, Consumer.
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