Survivorship
During cancer treatment, adolescents and young adults may focus all of their energy on getting through treatment. Some may not have spent much time talking or thinking about life after cancer treatment. It's normal to have questions about returning to work or school and managing relationships. Life after treatment often presents a new set of challenges.
Going forward, it's important to have follow-up care visits, which can help prevent or detect any problems due to cancer or its treatment. Follow-up care can help assure that emotional issues and concerns are addressed. Talk with your doctor to learn more. Learn how others have handled life after treatment is completed.
On this page:Guidelines and Follow-up Care
Interviews and Stories
Resources
Guidelines and Follow-up Care
- Follow-up Care After Cancer Treatment
A fact sheet that provides information about follow-up medical care for patients who have completed cancer treatment. - Long-term Follow-up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers
Guidelines for health care professionals have information about screening for and managing late effects from cancer treatments in children, adolescents, and young adults. Brief documents for survivors called "Health Links" are included (topics range from how to find and pay for follow-up care, to diet and physical activity, to emotional support, to specific medical conditions).
Interviews and Stories
- Many Survivors of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancers Have Chronic Health Problems, Unhealthy Behaviors
Young people with cancer face unique long-term challenges and risks, compared to younger children and older adult patients. (from the June 26, 2012, NCI Cancer Bulletin) - For Many Young Cancer Survivors, Late Effects Pose Lasting Problems
Raising awareness of the risk of late effects for survivors of AYA cancers is discussed, and methods to monitor and manage the late effects of treatment are covered. (from the July 26, 2011, NCI Cancer Bulletin) - Survivor Interviews
The Lance Armstrong Foundation's Survivor Interviews provide different perspectives on how survivors addressed various issues and concerns raised while living with cancer. Find personal stories from young adults and people in other age groups. - Cancer Survivor Stories
Once treatment is over, cancer survivors cope with their new life in different ways. Here are some inspiring stories of survivors who took what they went through with cancer and turned it into something positive. Perhaps their stories will inspire you and offer hope that there is truly life after cancer.
Resources
- Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment
This publication covers post-treatment issues such as follow-up medical care, physical and emotional changes, changes in social relationships, and workplace issues. - Facing Forward: Making a Difference in Cancer
Provides an overview of the potential benefits of involvement in activities that give back to one's community, as well as the ways one can become involved in these activities. Designed for cancer survivors and those who have taken care of someone with cancer. - Scholarships
There are many scholarships available for adolescents and young adults who want to return to school during or after cancer treatment, and also for children of a cancer patient or survivor or who lost a parent to cancer. Other scholarships are available for students pursuing careers in treating cancer. - The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study: An Overview
Health problems that develop years later as a result of a cancer treatment are known as late effects. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) was started in 1994 to better understand these late effects.
