Follow-up after treatment for vulvar 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 or symptoms that don’t go away. Tell your healthcare team if you have:
- itching of the vulva
- changes to the skin of the vulva
- a new lump or swelling in the groin or pelvis
- pain or bleeding
The chance that vulvar cancer will come back is greatest within 5 years, so you will need close follow-up during this time.
If you've had surgery, you will usually have a follow-up visit:
- every 3 to 4 months for the first year
- every 3 to 6 months for years 2 to 5
- once a year after 5 years
If you’ve had radiation therapy, you will usually have a follow-up visit:
- a month after therapy, then every 2 to 3 months for the first year
- every 3 to 6 months for years 2 to 5
- once a year after 5 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.
Your doctor may do a physical exam, including:
- a pelvic exam
- examining the skin of the vulva and anus
- feeling the lymph nodes in the groin
Tests are often part of follow-up care. You may have:
- a biopsy to check any abnormal areas of the vulva
- a CT scan to see if cancer has spread to lymph nodes or organs in the pelvis or abdomen, such as the liver or bladder
If the cancer 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?
- Which 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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