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At MD Anderson, you¡¯re considered a survivor from the day of your cancer diagnosis. And after you¡¯ve completed primary cancer treatment, you transition to survivorship. Essentially, this is your life after cancer. And it includes specialized survivorship care.

Survivorship care is focused on maximizing your health and well-being after cancer. This includes assessing for any late cancer recurrence as well as managing and reducing late or long-term side effects.

Whether you get that care at one of our survivorship clinics or with your primary care physician (PCP) back home, we are here to support you through that transition and beyond. Here, I¡¯ll share questions to ask your oncologist and the clinician who will be taking on your survivorship care. 

Questions to ask your oncologist

Here are some questions that would be helpful to ask your oncologist before starting survivorship care.

When will I transition to survivorship care?

Generally speaking, you will move to survivorship care once you¡¯ve completed primary cancer treatment. This treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

The actual timing of transitioning to survivorship care differs based on your risk for cancer recurrence and risk for later side effects of treatment. So, patients with a lower risk of their cancer coming back may transition to survivorship care sooner than patients who have a primary disease that¡¯s more difficult to treat.

We use evidence-based cancer survivorship algorithms to help us determine who is eligible for transition to survivorship. So, we¡¯ll only recommend you move to survivorship care once you¡¯re absolutely ready.

Should I get my survivorship care here at MD Anderson or somewhere else?

This is often a personal decision and depends on access to recommended survivorship care.

Many survivors will choose to continue getting their care at MD Anderson through one of our survivorship clinics. But if you can receive the recommended survivorship care closer to home, you may opt to see a local PCP for survivorship. Wherever you decide to get your survivorship care, you¡¯ll need a PCP to assess and manage general health conditions. 

Our goal is to make sure all of our patients receive survivorship care. To do that, we provide all survivors with a:

• Treatment summary: This highlights the types of treatment you received, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery.
• Care plan: Your care plan provides recommendations for screening and follow-up care based on the treatments you received. For example, some patients who receive chemotherapy face an increased risk of heart problems, so they may need an echocardiogram every few years. And some patients who receive radiation therapy have an increased risk of developing other cancers, so they may need screenings for breast cancer or colorectal cancer more frequently than what is recommended for the general population.

I strongly believe that many patients can receive outstanding survivorship care with their PCP. They¡¯re equipped to care for patients with complicated medical histories and many chronic health conditions.

However, they may not be as knowledgeable about cancer-specific treatment risks. That¡¯s why the treatment summary and care plan are so important.

We also lead several continuing education programs for PCPs on how to best care for cancer survivors. And we¡¯ve just launched a Survivorship Education Certificate for clinicians who want to learn how to provide the best care to cancer survivors.  

Will I still be able to communicate with my care team at MD Anderson if I¡¯m getting survivorship care somewhere else?

At MD Anderson, we care deeply about all of our patients. Survivorship is no different. You can still send your care team messages through , and they can answer your questions. 

Your PCP can also reach out to our survivorship team for specific questions related to your care. And if your cancer ever comes back or you develop a new health issue that requires the attention of an oncologist, our survivorship team can connect you with a doctor at MD Anderson.