Follow-up after treatment for soft tissue sarcoma
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 donʼt go away. Tell your healthcare team if you have:
- any new lump or swelling
- pain or an increase in pain
The chance that soft tissue sarcoma will come back (recur) is greatest within 5 years, so you will need close follow-up during this time.
Follow-up visits for soft tissue sarcoma are usually scheduled:
- every 3 to 6 months for the first 2 to 3 years
- every 6 months for the next 2 years
- once a year after 5 years
High-grade soft tissue sarcoma is more likely to come back than low-grade cancer. So follow-up visits may be scheduled more often for high-grade soft tissue sarcoma.
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 your prosthesis, if you have one after surgery.
Your doctor may do a physical exam, including:
- checking for lumps or swollen areas
- listening to the lungs
-
checking for
lymphedema - examining the stump if you’ve had an amputation
Tests are often part of follow-up care. You may have:
- a CT scan or an MRI of the area where the cancer started to check if the cancer has come back
- a chest x-ray or CT scan of the chest to check if the cancer has come back in the lung (lung metastases)
If the cancer has come back, you and your healthcare team will discuss a plan for your treatment and care.
Questions to ask 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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