Follow-up after treatment for brain and spinal cord tumours
Follow-up care lets your healthcare team keep track of your health for a period of time after treatment ends. This important part of cancer care is often shared among the cancer specialists and your family doctor. They will help you recover from treatment side effects and monitor you for any signs that the cancer has come back (recurred).
Follow-up care may not seem that important to you, especially if your treatment was long or very hard. You may find the idea of follow-up care stressful because it reminds you of your cancer experience or because you are worried about what a test might reveal. Talk to your healthcare team about how you feel and about why follow-up matters. Your healthcare team is there to help.
Schedule for follow-up visits
Don’t wait until your next scheduled appointment to report any new symptoms or symptoms that don’t go away. Tell your healthcare team if you have:
- headaches
- seizures
- changes to neurological functioning, including sensation, motor skills or personality
The chance that a brain or spinal cord tumour will come back (recur) is greatest within 5 years, so you will need close follow-up during this time. The chance of a brain or spinal cord tumour coming back also depends on the type and grade of the tumour.
Follow-up visits for brain and spinal cord tumours are usually scheduled:
- every 3 to 6 months for the first 5 years for high-grade tumours, and then once a year
- every 6 to 12 months for the first 5 years for low-grade tumours, and then every 1 to 2 years
During follow-up visits
During a follow-up visit, your healthcare team will usually ask questions about the side effects of treatment and how you’re coping. They may also ask about any new symptoms.
Your doctor may do a physical exam, including a neurological exam, to assess physical and mental alertness (neurological status). If a shunt is in place, the doctor will check to make sure it is working well.
Tests are often part of follow-up care. The type of tests and how often they are done depends on the type of tumour, location of the tumour, your symptoms and the treatment that was done. You may have:
- imaging tests, such as an MRI, CT scan or PET scan to check for the tumour coming back (recurrence)
- a blood test to check the level of antiseizure drugs (anticonvulsants) if you are taking them
If the tumour has come back, you and your healthcare team will discuss a plan for your treatment and care.
Find out more about follow-up
The following are questions that you can ask the healthcare team about follow-up after treatment for cancer. Choose the questions that fit your situation and add questions of your own. You may find it helpful to take the list to the next appointment and to write down the answers.
- What is the schedule for follow-up visits?
- How often is follow-up scheduled with the cancer specialist?
- Who is responsible for follow-up visits?
- What will happen at a follow-up visit?
- What tests are done on a regular basis? How often are they done?
- Are there any symptoms that should be reported right away? Who do I call?
- Who can help me cope with long-term side effects of treatment?
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