What is included in the follow-up care after cervical cancer treatment?

The care for women diagnosed with cervical cancer is incomplete even after the active treatment come to an end. The patient’s health care team have to keep a check on them to keep an eye on the recurrence of the disease. They also have to manage the side effects, as well as monitor the overall health of the patient. The follow up plan usually includes regular physical examinations and medical tests for the monitoring of recovery of the patient. Watching for recurrence rnThe main goal of this follow-up care is to keep a check on its recurrence which can happen as in some cases smaller areas of cancer cells may remain undetected in the body which can increase in number in due course of time. To detect such things, some tests are done that can show the cause signs or symptoms. rnDuring this period, the doctor should be aware of the patient’s medical history as the patient should be transparent with their doctors to get answers of all their queries regarding the recurrence. The blood tests or imaging tests as considered to be a part of regular follow-up care, which depends on several factors. rnKeeping personal health recordsrnThe patient, as well as the doctor has to work in coordination to create a personalized follow-up care plan. The patient should be well aware of their future physical or emotional health. If a patient is referring to another doctor or oncologist who wasn’t involved in the initial treatment, then they have to share their whole medical history as well as concerns regarding the after effects of the treatment. The type and stage of the cancer, their treatment side effects, their respective health insurance rules and even their personal preferences, plays a major role in deciding their doctor. Management of long-term and late side effects In most of the cases the patients expect to go through the side effects at the time of their treatment. Some side effects may linger beyond the treatment period, which is surprising to the survivors and that is why there are referred as long-term side effects. The other side effects that develop after some months or even years are known as late effects. Both of these effects can be both physical and emotional changes. The patient has to be in touch with the cervical cancer specialists and share everything the changes they are facing after the treatment.