Follow up after 30 years

Hi sisters, does anyone still go for checks and follow ups after 20-30 years? If so, which ones? My doctor still does CT scan every 2 years just to check all is ok. Of course I have all the usual yearly blood tests, etc that everyone has. What others tests do you all recommend?

I've never heard of a recurrence after 30 years. And CT surveillance scans are listed as optional in the first 5 years for advanced stages. Honestly have never heard of CT every two years decades after the fact. The CTs have hign radiation and repeated scans carrt some risk of damage including causing cancer.

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Originally Posted by LisaPizza I've never heard of a recurrence after 30 years. And CT surveillance scans are listed as optional in the first 5 years for advanced stages. Honestly have never heard of CT every two years decades after the fact. The CTs have hign radiation and repeated scans carrt some risk of damage including causing cancer.

I see that you had ovarian cancer, and for some reason I read it the first time as uterine. I still suspect that CT every 2 years this far out is excessive, but I don't actually know ovarian cancer guidelines. You might want to ask about the benefits and risks. Congratulations on 30 years though, just fabuolus!

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Originally Posted by LisaPizza I see that you had ovarian cancer, and for some reason I read it the first time as uterine. I still suspect that CT every 2 years this far out is excessive, but I don't actually know ovarian cancer guidelines. You might want to ask about the benefits and risks. Congratulations on 30 years though, just fabuolus!

I totally agree with you. I think it’s excessive too. Like you said, radiation risk and CT scans sometimes pick up stuff that isn’t there. They said I had a hernia once and ultrasound showed no hernia lol 😂 thank you my sister xxx

I also had a different type of cancer. But, for what it's worth, I "only" had annual PET/CT scans through my first five years following treatment which is generally considered the window during which recurrence is most likely (first two years especially). Since then, I only have scans if I'm having symptoms which warrant them. And, of course, I have all my other routine well-checks, etc.

Please don't hesitate to discuss your concerns with your doctor. Obviously, different testing modalities are better for specific issues. But, perhaps an MRI or even ultrasound might be options without the extra exposure.

Big congratulations on your survivorship!!

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Originally Posted by monami I also had a different type of cancer. But, for what it's worth, I "only" had annual PET/CT scans through my first five years following treatment which is generally considered the window during which recurrence is most likely (first two years especially). Since then, I only have scans if I'm having symptoms which warrant them. And, of course, I have all my other routine well-checks, etc. Please don't hesitate to discuss your concerns with your doctor. Obviously, different testing modalities are better for specific issues. But, perhaps an MRI or even ultrasound might be options without the extra exposure. Big congratulations on your survivorship!!

Thank you xxx

I agree that that is too much testing for something that has been gone for decades. Here are the official guidelines from NCCN:

https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidel...an-patient.pdf

Thank you so much 😊