Top four questions I receive about cancer survivorship care
July 14, 2025
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by Johnny Rollins on July 14, 2025
I can normally tell within the first 2-3 minutes of meeting someone if they¡¯ve received the proper orientation about what to expect from me and/or survivorship care.
When they haven¡¯t, their questions tend to run along the lines of, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Why am I seeing you instead of the doctor who's been treating me for the past four years?¡± and ¡°How are you associated with the Endocrine Center?¡±&²Ô²ú²õ±è;&²Ô²ú²õ±è;
But when they have been prepared, their questions are more focused on themselves as individuals.
Here, I¡¯ll address the questions I hear most often, as well as the basics of survivorship care, how it differs from active cancer treatment and why it¡¯s important.
What happens during a survivorship care visit?
During survivorship visits, we¡¯ll do a physical exam, check your blood work and monitor your imaging, just as your oncologists did when you were still in active cancer treatment. But we¡¯re also going to screen you for possible late effects, and talk about cancer prevention, ways you can reduce your risk of a recurrence, and other important aspects of your health.
I¡¯ll ask you when your last mammogram or prostate exam was, for instance, or if you¡¯ve had a colonoscopy yet. We¡¯ll also talk about your psychological health, other cancer screenings you¡¯re eligible for, as well as any chronic health conditions you might have, such as hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol.
This can be a really eye-opening experience for some patients, because they¡¯ve spent the last 5 or 10 years worrying only about cancer. They never stopped to think about their heart health or their blood pressure. And nobody ever asked them about these things because they had no primary care physician (PCP).
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Key takeaways
- You won't lose access to anyone on your care team after you've transitioned to survivorship.
- Checkups in survivorship include many of the same elements as they did before, plus some new ones.
- You can work out how frequently you'll need checkups with your care team.
Why am I seeing you instead of my doctor?
Our doctors don¡¯t have the capacity to keep seeing everyone they¡¯ve ever treated, no matter how much they wish they could. There aren¡¯t enough hours in the day. We have to prioritize our sickest patients. That means transitioning those who don¡¯t need the same level of care as those in active treatment to survivorship.
If this describes you, please don¡¯t be upset. That¡¯s actually good news! It either means you no longer have cancer or your cancer is stable enough that you no longer need the same level of care you once did. Our advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) are also highly specialized. So, you¡¯ll continue to receive exceptional care and attention from them moving forward.
Whether you¡¯re in survivorship for breast cancer, colorectal cancer or something else, your advanced practice provider (APP) will be intimately familiar with the ins and outs of that particular disease. They will know exactly what warning signs to look for, as well as when to pull your oncologist back into the conversation.
Seeing an APP instead of an oncologist here at MD Anderson frees up our doctors to treat the patients who need it most. But if you ever have a recurrence ¡ª or even a suspicion of a recurrence ¡ª rest assured: we will alert your oncologist immediately.
How long do I have to stay in survivorship?
This is probably the question I hear the most: ¡°How long do I have to keep seeing you?¡± Usually, my answer is, ¡°Well, we¡¯re all adults here, so we can figure that out.¡±
I¡¯m going to tell you our recommendations. But ultimately, it¡¯s up to you to follow them.
If you¡¯re 10 years out from diagnosis and still cancer-free, you can probably come see me once every three years, provided you follow up with your primary care physician annually. But if you¡¯re only one or two years out, I¡¯ll probably want to see you every year, at least for a while.
If you¡¯d prefer to follow up with doctors closer to home, though, we can assist you with that. All patients transitioning to survivorship at MD Anderson will receive both a treatment summary and a care plan to guide their follow-up care. We also offer a free, three-tier Survivorship Education Certificate for clinicians. Its goal is to provide a bridge from MD Anderson back to the community, so that local providers will know the best way to take care of you.
Who do I contact now?
Your primary care provider at MD Anderson won¡¯t change just because you finish treatment. So, if , was the first doctor you saw here at the Endocrine Center, he¡¯s still going to be driving the bus. Transitioning to survivorship won¡¯t change that.
Think of me more as a new addition to your care team, so that he can focus on the really sick patients. If there¡¯s something I need to tell him, I will. And, you can still send him messages any time via , though they¡¯ll likely get forwarded to me. The most important thing to remember is that you won¡¯t lose access to anybody.
Johnny Rollins is an advanced practice registered nurse who works with patients in the Thyroid Cancer Survivorship Clinic. He also serves as associate director of Advanced Practice Providers, Programs Survivorship.
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Topics
SurvivorshipYou won¡¯t lose access to anybody.
Johnny Rollins
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse