Your care plan and follow-up

A survivorship care plan and regular follow-up visits help you stay healthy after treatment.

Rosa: Hi, I'm Rosa. After treatment, a clear plan helps you stay on track. Let's go over your follow-up visits and what to ask.

When active treatment ends, many people feel both relief and worry. You may see your cancer team less often. A survivorship care plan can help you know what comes next.

A survivorship care plan is a written summary of your cancer and treatment, plus a plan for follow-up care. It lists the treatments you had, possible late effects to watch for, which tests you need and how often, and who is in charge of each part of your care.

Follow-up visits check for the cancer coming back, look for new cancers, and manage side effects. The tests you need depend on your type of cancer and treatment. Not everyone needs regular scans. More scans are not always better. Ask your doctor why each test is needed.

Over time, your primary care doctor may take over more of your care. It helps when your cancer team and primary care doctor share information. Bring your care plan to every new doctor.

Keep up with regular health care too. This includes screening for other cancers, vaccines, dental care, and care for other health conditions like blood pressure and diabetes.

Treatment summary

A list of your diagnosis, stage, surgery, medicines, radiation, and dates.

Follow-up schedule

When you should have visits, blood tests, and scans.

Who to see

Your oncologist, primary care doctor, and specialists like a heart doctor or physical therapist, if needed.

Survivorship clinic

Some cancer centers have clinics that focus on life after treatment. Ask if yours does.

Symptoms to report

New pain, lumps, cough, weight loss, or other changes that do not go away after a couple of weeks.

• Ask your cancer team for a survivorship care plan and treatment summary.
• Ask: Who should I call with new symptoms?
• Ask: Which tests do I need, and how often?
• Ask: When will my primary care doctor take over?
• Keep copies of your records in one place.
• Stay up to date on other cancer screening tests.

Last updated: 2026-10-27. Medically reviewed by Veli Bakalov, MD, medical oncologist (October 2026). General education from Step by Step, the patient portal of HemeOncBuddy.