Follow-up Care
You'll need regular checkups after treatment for
prostate cancer. Checkups help ensure that any changes
in your health are noted and treated if needed. If you
have any health problems between checkups, you
should contact your doctor.
Your doctor will check for return of cancer. Even
when the cancer seems to have been completely
removed or destroyed, the disease sometimes returns
because undetected cancer cells remained somewhere
in the body after treatment.
Checkups may include a digital rectal exam and a
PSA test. A rise in PSA level can mean that cancer has
returned after treatment. Your doctor may also order a
biopsy, a bone scan, CT scans, an MRI, or other tests.
The NCI has publications to help answer questions
about follow-up care and other concerns. You may find
it helpful to read the NCI booklet Facing Forward:
Life After Cancer Treatment. You may also want to
read the NCI fact sheet Follow-up Care After Cancer
Treatment: Questions and Answers.
You may want to ask your doctor these
questions after you have finished treatment:
- How often will I need checkups?
- Which follow-up tests do you suggest for me?
- Between checkups, what health problems or
symptoms should I tell you about?
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