Hi all,
I have my first follow up appointment after radiotherapy (which finished at start of November) with my surgeon this week. I am finding myself increasingly agitated about it. Surely this one should be a breeze compared to all previous appointments? It’s like having to be reminded all over again when I have been trying hard to move on. What if I get told some news I am not expecting? What is the follow up appointment like & how many do you have? Is it just mammograms after this?
thank you xx
Hi Annie
The follow up appointment is for reassurance. If your treatment was radiotherapy plus hormone therapy, they won’t be looking for recurrence. They will want to know how you are getting on with hormone therapy, any side effects to be managed (very common problem) but, unless you’ve already had some tests, they have no way of knowing how you’re doing. There probably won’t be a physical examination unless you report something. There’s nothing they want more than to see you moving on. But shaking off the experience is not easy for most people. It’s just there, something that happened. But there will probably be a random thought about recurrence occasionally. That’s normal, especially waiting for the annual mammogram Good luck with the appointment x.