I can normally tell within the first 2-3 minutes of meeting someone if they’ve received the proper orientation about what to expect from me and/or survivorship care.  

When they haven’t, their questions tend to run along the lines of, “Who are you?” “Why am I seeing you instead of the doctor who's been treating me for the past four years?” and “How are you associated with the Endocrine Center?”  

But when they have been prepared, their questions are more focused on themselves as individuals. 

Here, I’ll address the questions I hear most often, as well as the basics of survivorship care, how it differs from active cancer treatment and why it’s important. 

What happens during a survivorship care visit?

During survivorship visits, we’ll do a physical exam, check your blood work and monitor your imaging, just as your oncologists did when you were still in active cancer treatment. But we’re also going to screen you for possible late effects, and talk about cancer prevention, ways you can reduce your risk of a recurrence, and other important aspects of your health.  

I’ll ask you when your last mammogram or prostate exam was, for instance, or if you’ve had a colonoscopy yet. We’ll also talk about your psychological health, other cancer screenings you’re eligible for, as well as any chronic health conditions you might have, such as hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol.  

This can be a really eye-opening experience for some patients, because they’ve spent the last 5 or 10 years worrying only about cancer. They never stopped to think about their heart health or their blood pressure. And nobody ever asked them about these things because they had no primary care physician (PCP).