Multiple Myeloma

Getting Follow-up Care

Getting routine follow-up care after treatment allows your doctors to monitor your health for signs of disease recurrence. Cancer patients should understand that routine visits with your treating oncologist initially, usually for several years after diagnosis, and then with your primary care physician are essential.

Follow-up cancer care involves regular medical checkups that include a review of a patient’s medical history and a physical exam. Follow-up care may include imaging procedures (methods of producing pictures of areas inside the body), endoscopy (the use of a thin, lighted tube to examine the inside of the body), blood work and other lab tests.

Following up with your doctors is important because early detection of any disease recurrence is key to extending successful treatment. Your doctor will ask questions about any persistent symptoms you may be having, especially those related to recurrence and side effects of treatment, to help you stay healthy, enhance your wellbeing and live longer.

Follow-up care visits are also important to help in the prevention or early detection of other types of cancer, address ongoing health problems and check for physical and psychosocial effects that may develop months to years after treatment ends. All cancer survivors should have follow-up care.