| Anxiety feelings after breast cancer treatment are | | | | with your team who is the leader and who will offer |
| common and occur partly because the end has come | | | | future tests for you. |
| to the frequent visits with your doctors, which can | | | | At the very least, you should be examined by a |
| serve to comfort - giving you the tangible notion that | | | | physician, usually the same examiner, every six |
| someone is watching over you and your health. | | | | months or so. If breast surgery with radiation, or |
| However, you may be struggling with the fear of | | | | lumpectomy alone, has been your form of treatment, |
| recurrence that many women experience after their | | | | you should undergo mammography approximately six |
| treatments. Remember that during the treatment | | | | months after completion of radiotherapy or surgery. |
| planning process, you want to develop a plan to | | | | This will serve as a new baseline that future tests |
| optimize your chance of cure and to carry out that | | | | can be measured against. Mammography should then |
| plan. When, this is done, it is time for you to go on | | | | be repeated annually. If you have had a mastectomy |
| with your life. For some women, this means putting | | | | with or without breast reconstruction surgery, the |
| the whole process behind them, not even allowing | | | | tissue just beneath the skin and armpit are the areas |
| the experience to enter their thoughts, but, for most | | | | of possible recurrence and a physical examination is all |
| women, life can't ever be the same again. These | | | | that is necessary for follow up in your case. Although |
| women feel that they must do something to give | | | | uncommon, it is essential to diagnose local recurrence |
| cancer meaning in their overall life experience - such | | | | as soon as possible. |
| as becoming an advocate for other women who | | | | Controversy also exists about how much testing is |
| may be suffering. Breast cancer enables many | | | | necessary to look for a systemic relapse. If you are |
| changes to take place in your life, whether they | | | | on protocols testing new drug regimes, there is a set |
| come in the form of helping a new friend or | | | | of schedules for doing blood analysis, chest x-rays |
| whatever other activity may create that meaning or | | | | and bone scans. Bone scans, computed tomography |
| sense of purpose for you. | | | | scans and magnetic resonance imaging as routine |
| Once a woman has breast cancer, most often, there | | | | follow up are not recommended for three reasons: |
| is an underlying fear of cancer recurrence. | | | | these tests are quite expensive; they expose you to |
| Unfortunately, some women have recurrences, even | | | | radiation; and studies show that finding a systemic |
| after they have done everything they are supposed | | | | recurrence a few months early, as these test allow, |
| to do to prevent this. Tremendous controversy lies in | | | | does not affect further treatment or response. |
| regard to how much and what kind of surveillance is | | | | Once you have breast cancer, you join a huge group |
| necessary after breast cancer therapy. How one | | | | of women, well over 2 million strong, who are cancer |
| should be followed up for recurrence and by whom | | | | survivors. Your life will have changed in many ways |
| should be given some thought. Since you are most | | | | forever. How you cope with being a survivor and |
| likely being treated by several medical personnel, | | | | dealing with the fear of recurrence head-on will |
| once your treatment is complete, you should discuss | | | | largely influence the quality of the rest of your life. |