Follow-up after treatment for melanoma skin 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 specialists, such as the dermatologist, surgeon and oncologist, and your family doctor. They will help you recover from treatment side effects and monitor you for any signs that melanoma skin 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:
- any new growths, moles or abnormal areas on your skin
- any new lump or swelling
- pain or an increase in pain
- a cough that doesn't go away
The chance that melanoma will come back (recur) is greatest within 5 years, so you will need close follow-up during this time. But since melanoma can come back at any time, long-term follow-up is also important.
Follow-up visits for melanoma are usually scheduled every 3 to 12 months. It depends on the stage and the risk that the cancer will come back. If you were treated for an advanced stage of melanoma or have a high risk of recurrence, follow-up is usually done more often for the first 2 to 3 years.
Doctors usually suggest that people with a history of skin cancer have a skin exam at least once every year for the rest of their life.
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 will also ask about any new signs or symptoms that concern you.
Your doctor will do a physical exam, including a skin exam, to check:
- the place where the cancer was removed or treated
- for abnormal areas on the skin on the rest of the body, especially areas that are exposed to the sun
- for enlarged lymph nodes close to where the cancer started
Your doctor may also teach you about:
- how to enjoy the sun safely
- checking your skin, including how often you should check it
Depending on any signs or symptoms you have or your risk that the cancer will come back, your doctor may also send you for imaging tests, such as a CT scan, an x-ray or an MRI, to check if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
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 of questions 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?