AFTER CANCER: QUESTIONS ABOUT AFTER CANCER TREATMENT

How Long after I Receive Ну Last Cancer Treatment Will the Treatment Kill Cancer Cells (Have an Antitumor Effect)?

Depending on what kind of cancer you had, and what kind of therapy you had, your treatments can continue to have an effect on cancer cells for weeks to months. This activity against cancer cells is the “antitumor effect.”

Surgery itself has no further effect on your cancer once the operation is complete. However, the physical changes that accompany removing a cancer from the body and healing from the surgery may have an antitumor effect in some people. There is reason to believe that for some people the stimulation of the immune system during the healing process after surgery may also have an antitumor effect.

Chemotherapy continues to work for days to weeks after the drug is given. That is one of the reasons why the doses are spaced out over time.

Radiation therapy continues to have an antitumor effect for weeks after the last dose is given.

Immunotherapy continues to work over days to weeks—and possibly months to years, if it causes a self-perpetuating change in your immune system.

The exact duration of the antitumor effect is not predictable, but it can be estimated on the basis of

• the type of cancer

• the type of therapy

• the presence of concurrent therapy

• the duration and intensity of cancer therapy

• your body’s response to the cancer therapy

• your nutritional and circulation status

Do I Really Need to Have All of These Tests?

These tests are needed to determine whether you have received enough treatment and to be sure that no new problems are developing. Getting accurate information and making good decisions after treatment is just as important as doing so before treatment, as far as your long-term health goes.

What about the Risk to Me from Getting All These Scans and X Rays?

Your recent cancer poses a clear and present danger to your health. Making the best treatment decisions on the basis of complete and accurate information is critical to maximizing your health. Your risks from the X-ray exposure are far less than the risks of not evaluating adequately your cancer situation.

X rays should not be taken indiscriminately. You can minimize your exposure to X rays when there are acceptable alternative ways of getting the same information, such as sonograms. When you have doubts about the necessity of an X ray, ask your doctor

• what information will be obtained from the X ray

• how the information gained will affect your decision making

• whether you can get the same information without X rays

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