Medical Care After Breast Cancer Treatment

After you finish treatment for breast cancer, for the next 5 years, you’ll see your oncologist and other members of your health care team on a regular basis. Depending on your situation, you’ll see them 1-4 times a year. After that, you’ll see your oncologist or you may see your primary care physician regularly for many years for follow-up care.

The goals of follow-up visits are to [1-3]:

• Find breast cancer that has returned to the breast, chest or nearby lymph nodes (local breast cancer recurrence).
• Find breast cancer that has returned and spread to other parts of the body (metastasis).
• Manage any problems you’re having taking medications, such as hormone therapy.
• Manage side effects of treatment, such as menopausal symptoms or numbness and tingling in your fingers and toes. (It may help to keep a record of side effects as they happen to track them and discuss with your health care provider.)
• Discuss healthy lifestyle behaviors linked to a lower risk of breast cancer recurrence, such as reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Check for signs of lymphedema.
• Update your family history and refer you to genetic counseling or genetic testing, if appropriate.
• Provide medical updates that might change your follow-up care.
• Provide resources, information and referrals to support resources or medications to manage worries, anxiety, distress or depression.
• Provide emotional support.
• Give you a time to ask questions and share concerns.

For people who have an inherited gene mutation related to breast cancer, and those with a strong family history of breast cancer or other cancers, follow-up visits may also include recommendations for screening and risk reduction for other cancers.

It’s best to continue to see your primary care provider and other health care providers to [1-3]:

• Monitor your general health, such as checking your blood pressure, cholesterol and risk factors for heart disease (including breast cancer treatments you may have had).
• Get other routine health screenings, such as bone density tests and screening for other cancers.
• Get gynecological care (for women), such as pelvic exams and Pap smears.
• Manage other medical problems.

Recommended medical care after breast cancer treatment

The table below shows recommended follow-up care with your oncology team after breast cancer treatment.

During follow-up visits, your health care provider will ask you about any symptoms or concerns you may have.

These visits are a good time to discuss how you’re doing emotionally. If you feel anxious or depressed, tell your health care provider. They may refer you to a support group, counselor or other resources. They may also recommend medication to treat your anxiety or depression.

Learn more about support groups and other types of support.

Recommended medical care after breast cancer treatment
	Who	Plan for care
Medical history and physical exam	Everyone treated for breast cancer	1-4 times a year (depending on your situation) for 5 years, then every year
Mammogram (both breasts)	People treated with lumpectomy	6-12 months after radiation therapy ends, then every year
Mammogram (opposite breast)	People treated with mastectomy	1 year after mammogram that led to diagnosis, then every year A reconstructed breast(s) does not need mammography screening
Bone health exams	Women at higher risk of osteoporosis due to risk factors including: Aromatase inhibitor use Early menopause due to treatment Age 65 years or older Age 60-64 years with family history of osteoporosis or with low body weight	Baseline bone mineral density test, then every 1-2 years, depending on a person’s risk factors

Adapted from National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and American Cancer Society materials [1-3].

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends breast cancer survivors get the seasonal flu shot.

If you’re currently in treatment for breast cancer or have been treated in the past, you’re at higher risk for complications from the seasonal flu [4].

If you’ve had chemotherapy, radiation therapy or other breast cancer treatments in the past month, call your health care provider if you have any flu symptoms.

Find more information from the CDC about the seasonal flu.

Find information about COVID-19 and breast cancer.

How would a breast cancer recurrence be found?

Breast cancer that recurs at the original site is called a local recurrence. A local recurrence is usually found on a mammogram, during a physical exam by a health care provider or when you notice a change in or around the breast or underarm.

Breast cancer that returns and spreads to other parts of the body is called a distant recurrence (metastasis). This is metastatic breast cancer and may also be called stage IV or advanced breast cancer. It’s usually found when new and persistent symptoms are reported to a health care provider and follow-up tests are done.

If you have a local recurrence or metastasis, it’s not your fault. You did nothing to cause it.

Learn about the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Learn more about local breast cancer recurrence.

Learn more about metastasis, including signs and symptoms that should be discussed with your health care provider.

Updated 08/09/23