Long-term follow-up clinics provide you with an opportunity to learn about and plan the monitoring and support you may need. Long-term follow-up aims to detect and manage any long-term side effects (called late effects) which can happen after having cancer treatment. They can occur soon after treatment finishes or later in life. Follow-up will also give you support and advice on how you can stay healthy throughout your life.
What to expect in follow-up care
Progress in follow-up support services
If you were treated for cancer as a child and did not receive any follow-up care after your treatment finished, you can contact the long-term follow-up clinic direct where you received your treatment:
Directory of long-term follow-up clinics
What are long-term side effects of treatment?
Long-term side effects (called late effects) can be physical, occurring in any organ or body system, or psychological. They can occur because of the cancer, its treatment, related illness, an underlying condition or because of treatment-related complications. The hospital team at your follow-up clinic will help you with specific information about which late effects are relevant to you.
Approximately two out of three of survivors will have an issue or ‘late effect’ related to their treatment. For some this will be very minor; for others it may be more major. The risk of a late effect occurring is different for everyone and depends on:
- your type of cancer
- the age when you were treated
- the treatment you received
We encourage you to ask your key worker or follow-up team about anything that they have not covered. You may have been treated for a tumour or condition that was not cancerous, but because of the treatment you had this information still applies to you. If this is the case, your doctor will explain why.
