What happens after treatment
What happens after treatment?
Ongoing Support
You may be relieved when your treatment is finished, but you may also feel worried that you no longer have regular hospital appointments. However, you will be assigned a key worker who will continue to support you after your treatment, and you will have follow-up appointments and check-ups afterwards. Your hospital may have a peer support group which you are welcome to continue to attend, and you will always be able to contact your GP with questions. Click here for more places you can find support.
You will also continue to have your PSA tests regularly after your treatment is finished. This is so your care team can monitor your cancer to see if you may need more treatment in the future.
Follow-up Appointments
After your treatment, you will have follow-up appointments at either your hospital or with your GP. Where these take place, how many appointments you attend and how often you are invited to follow-up appointments will depend on your own individual experience of cancer. It is important that you attend your follow-up appointments. Your GP or one of your specialist team will use them to check how your cancer has responded to treatment and discuss your side effects. You should also use these appointments to ask any questions you may have.
You may find it helpful to:
- Take notes, and to bring the notes you took at the last appointment to the next one
- Ask the doctor to write something down for you
- Take your partner or friend with you
- Ask to record the appointment, for example on your mobile phone
- Ask the same question again if it wasn’t explained in a way you understood the first time
Long-term Side Effects
Some of the side effects of prostate cancer treatment are long-term.
However, most men who have had prostate cancer can expect to enjoy a good quality of life after their treatment. Incontinence issues usually improve significantly after treatment. Unfortunately, many men will continue to have problems with erections longer-term. The exact side effects depend on a number of factors, such as how your individual cancer behaved and the treatment that you have had. You should keep the information you received about your treatment so you can refer back to it later if you need to. You should also not be shy about asking your GP or key worker about your side effects. New treatments may become available that will help you manage them.