after chemo

I finished chemo 3 weeks ago. I don't know any cancer patient that isn't worried about recurrence but I've been told the worry lessens with time. The reality is we don't know if the treatment was effective. There are tests they can do to see if it has come back such as blood markers and scans. Standard care in my area is not to do these. Blood markers are not reliable for everyone. Scans only show the position at that point in time, require the cancer to be a certain size and come with their own long term risks. We are told to report any symptoms that don't go away after two weeks and then they run these tests if they are concerned. Apparently there is a study that says the long term prognosis is no different from treating recurrence earlier rather than later which doesn't sound right to me.

It doesn't sound right that you have been given a script for tamoxifen and have been sent on your way for 12 months. I would expect at least a return visit in a few months to check on how you are managing the tamoxifen but I thought standard care was 3 monthly review moving to 6 monthly the further you get from finishing treatment. I am still having Herceptin so see my oncologist every 3 weeks for the next 10 months.