Completing cancer treatment thrusts you into a new phase of dealing with your cancer. This is a time of crucial information gathering and decision making. You will
• find out the status of your cancer. Is your cancer completely gone as far as we can tell? If your cancer is not gone, where is it?
•evaluate your current condition (your physical and emotional limits, both temporary and permanent). How are your kidneys? Lungs? Heart? Weight?
• make a decision about whether further treatment will offer any benefit in terms of maximizing control of your cancer now or decreasing the chance of its coming back
• begin to learn how to live most fully within any new limits
• learn what you can do to accelerate your recovery
• find out what you can do to prevent future problems, such as use sunscreen or undergo periodic colon tests
•begin the adjustment of changing from being a patient under active cancer treatment to being a patient with a history of cancer who is seen for checkups geared to the special needs of someone who survived your type of cancer
• begin your lifelong routine of cancer follow-up
What Is Restaging?
Restaging is the evaluation after your treatment is completed, to determine
• how much cancer is left, if any
• whether there are any new areas of cancer
How Is Restaging Done?
Your restaging is orchestrated by your oncologist, who will
• talk to you about any symptoms or problems you are having
• examine you (“do a physical exam”)
• order various tests and studies, such as blood tests, X rays, and scans, or bone marrow biopsies
Sometimes surgery is advised as part of your restaging. This may be expected, such as “second-look” surgeries for certain types of ovarian cancer. Or you may need surgery because there is still something on your scan or your exam, and because there is no other way to determine whether it is cancer or a scar. As blood tests and imaging studies become more and more sophisticated, surgery is used less frequently for restaging.
Why Is Restaging Important?
Restaging allows your doctors to
• evaluate your response to the treatments
• determine whether further treatment is indicated
• redetermine your prognosis
Will My Restaging Comprise All of the Same Tests as My Original Staging?
The tests used to restage you will depend on the type of cancer you had, which tests were abnormal when you were first diagnosed, and what new tests have become available since then. In many cases all the tests that were done when you were first diagnosed will be repeated. Sometimes fewer tests are needed. Rarely, more tests are needed.
When Should I Be Restaged?
Most cancer treatments continue to have effects on cancer cells for a while after the last treatment is administered. Therefore, restaging is undertaken when your treatment has had ample time to have its maximum effect.
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