When your radiation therapy is complete, you will meet with your radiation oncologist for follow-up. Your next steps after that may include:
- Meeting with other care teams for additional treatment, if needed
- Meeting with the cancer survivorship team for supportive care
- Watching for side effects that can develop after treatment
Your final treatment
After your last radiation treatment, you will meet with a nurse to review your after-visit summary:
- Speak with your nurse about how to care for yourself after your radiation treatment.
- Schedule a follow-up appointment with your radiation oncologist, usually 3 months after your first visit.
- Make note of our contact information in case you have questions or need to change your follow-up appointment.
After treatment
It’s important that your current doctors—whom you saw before coming to Stanford--are kept in the loop about your treatment at Stanford. We will partner with them to give you the best possible care. We recommend that you:
- Provide us with the contact information for your primary care doctor and any specialists that you are seeing outside Stanford. We can then contact them to keep them updated on your treatment and work.
- Keep in touch with your current doctors to keep them informed about your treatment at Stanford.
Your cancer care doesn’t stop after radiation treatment. Your radiation care team will schedule follow-up appointments to see how you are doing and provide any additional care you may need.
Your team at Stanford is always here to support you.
Come in for your follow-up appointment
You will meet with your radiation oncologist about 3 months, after you complete your radiation treatments.
Your doctor will ask you how you are doing, assess your progress, and offer additional care and guidance.
Begin additional treatment
In cancer care, radiation therapy usually follows primary treatment with surgery or drug therapy. If drug therapy is part of your treatment plan, you will meet with the gynecologic oncology team to discuss the next phase of your treatment. The medical oncology team may take over managing your cancer care, including follow-up visits.
Managing side effects
If you experience side effects from your radiation therapy, please tell your care team. Sometimes, the side effects go away when your treatment is finished. If not, we can provide prescription medications or other suggestions to help you manage side effects.
Stanford Cancer Survivorship Program
At Stanford, our support doesn’t end when you complete active treatment (treatment that directly fights cancer). Our Cancer Survivorship Program offers health care and other services to help cancer survivors transition to life after cancer and the activities you enjoy.
Our program offers:
- Education classes and workshops
- Complete health care including clinic visits with nurse practitioners and physician assistants experienced in cancer care
- Individual counseling and support groups for cancer survivors
Our team of cancer professionals works with your cancer team to develop a personalized care plan for your post-treatment quality of life. We also communicate with your primary care doctor and any outside specialists you work with to update them on your treatment at Stanford. We can coordinate your care with them to help you stay healthy for the long term.
Our Cancer Survivorship team can start working with you and your family as soon as you receive your diagnosis. We encourage you to contact us then or at any time before your treatment ends so we can start building your plan.
Published July 2018
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