Developing A Follow-Up Plan

Now that active treatment is over, it is now time to focus on how to get and stay organized with your health and medical records, this is frequently treatment summary and includes the details of the anti-cancer treatments and medicines that you received. Even after treatment is over, cancer survivors typically still have health issues to consider and pay attention to so it is important to know what medicines and procedures you had during the treatment phase of your cancer journey.

Knowing what to expect after cancer treatment can help you and your family make plans, healthy lifestyle changes, and important decisions. The information provided on our website and by the Cancer Support Community will inform you about the late effects of cancer treatment, certain health risks, the importance of follow-up care, and how to best care for yourself after treatment is over. Survivorship requires many things - physical activity and nutrition, a healthy emotional life, and success with managing medical issues after treatment. Addressing these factors all together and in an active way can enhance the quality of your survivorship.

The Cancer Support Community, in partnership with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, designed the Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment program to help you understand and take charge of your life after treatment in a way that promotes long-term health, including how to create a post treatment followup plan that works for you. Visit the Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment program website at www.cancertransitions.org to learn more about this program for post treatment survivorship.

In addition to the resources below, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) and several partners have delveloped the Journey Forward. This is a program that compliments the Cancer Transitions program and deals with the need for survivors and their doctors to work as a team after active treatment comes to an end. For more information, visit their website at www.journeyforward.org