Read article Follow up for stomach cancer
This page is about follow up after treatment for stomach cancer. There is information on
Follow up for stomach cancer
After your treatment has finished, your doctor will want you to have regular check ups. Your doctor will examine you and ask how you are feeling, whether you have had any symptoms and if you are worried about anything. You will probably have blood tests. If there are any signs that your cancer might be active again you may have a scan or endoscopy.
If you are worried or notice any new symptoms between appointments, you must let your doctor know as soon as possible. You don’t have to wait until the next appointment.
Feeling anxious
Many people find the thought of their check ups quite worrying. If you are feeling well and getting on with life, a hospital appointment can bring all the worry about your cancer back to you. It is quite common nowadays for people to have counselling after cancer treatment. To find out more about counselling, look in the coping with cancer section.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the treating stomach cancer section.
After your treatment has finished, your doctor will want you to have regular check ups to see how you are doing and if you have any problems or side effects from your treatment. At these appointments your doctor will examine you and you will probably have blood tests. Your doctor will also ask how you are feeling, how you are managing with your diet after surgery and whether you have had any symptoms or are worried about anything. If there are any signs that your cancer might be active again you may have a scan or endoscopy.
You may want to come back to hospital to see the dietician or clinical nurse specialist if you have had stomach surgery. You can arrange this through your specialist doctor or nurse when you attend the outpatient clinic. If you have a follow up appointment coming up and would like to see a dietician at the same time, you could telephone the clinic or your consultant's secretary to arrange this for you.
If you have had surgery, you will see your surgeon regularly at first to make sure you have recovered well from the operation. Usually, you see the surgeon every 3 months for one year. If all is well, you may see the surgeon every 6 months after that.
If you have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy you will see the medical oncologist every few weeks or months once the treatment ends. The appointments will gradually become less and less frequent.
After 2 years your appointments may only be every year. If you are worried or notice any new symptoms between appointments, you must let your doctor know as soon as possible. You don’t have to wait until the next appointment.
If your cancer is advanced and you have had chemotherapy treatment, you are likely to have appointments every 3 months for the first 2 years after treatment.
Many people find the thought of their check ups quite worrying. If you are feeling well and getting on with life, a hospital appointment can bring all the worry about your cancer back to you. You may find it helpful to contact your clinical nurse specialist or tell someone close to you how you are feeling. If you are able to share your worries, they may not seem quite so bad. It is quite common nowadays for people to have counselling after cancer treatment. To find out more about counselling, look in the coping with cancer section.
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