Follow-up after treatment for laryngeal cancer
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 and symptoms that don’t go away. Tell your healthcare team if you have:
- worsening hoarseness or other voice changes
- a sore throat
- difficulty swallowing or breathing
- a lump in the neck
The chance that laryngeal cancer will recur is greatest within the first 2 to 3 years, so you will need close follow-up during this time.
Follow-up visits for laryngeal cancer are usually scheduled:
- every 4 to 8 weeks for the first 2 years
- every 3 months for year 3
- every 6 months for years 4 and 5
- once a year after year 5
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.
Your doctor may do a physical exam, including:
- feeling for any lumps, swelling on the inside of the mouth, cheeks and lips, or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck
- feeling the floor of the mouth and the base of the tongue
- examining the roof of the mouth and the back of the throat
- examining the nose and ears
Tests are often part of follow-up care. You may have:
- a laryngoscopy to look at the larynx and do a biopsy if there is an abnormal-looking area
- imaging tests such as a CT scan, an MRI or a PET scan to check for spread of the cancer
- blood tests to check thyroid function every 6 to 12 months
- a chest x-ray to check for spread of the cancer to the lungs
- speech and swallowing tests
If the cancer has come back, you and your healthcare team will discuss 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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