Survivorship Care and Managing Your Own Health

Our team has decades of experience working with teens and young adults as they are treated for cancer and as they transition to long-term survivorship care. We offer comprehensive survivorship visits for childhood and AYA cancer survivors, including survivorship plans, physical and psychosocial assessments, referrals as appropriate, and discussion of all the above AYA issues.

Here are some of the tips those patients have found most helpful.

Helpful tips during and after cancer treatment

Be your biggest advocate. It’s easy to feel like treatment is happening “to” you, but you should be an active participant in your care. This can take many forms, including:

  • Asking as many questions as you need until you understand exactly what will happen during a given procedure or treatment.
  • Understanding how the potential side effects of treatment will impact your daily life, sharing your concerns about side effects, and working with your care team to address them.
  • Gaining full understanding of the insurance and billing process.
  • Requesting accommodations at work or school.
  • Knowing whom to contact if you have questions or concerns.

Bring a buddy. Appointments can be stressful, and there are often many details to remember. Having another person there to help catch everything—and take notes—is often helpful. Your buddy can also help support you emotionally.

Be prepared. Managing cancer treatment on top of everything else in your life can be extremely complicated. Figuring out the best system to help you stay organized—whether it’s a binder for paperwork or an app—can give you the confidence of having the answers at your fingertips. Many people with cancer also find it helpful to write down questions when you think of them and save them for your next appointment.

Ask for help. Cancer treatment will likely be one of the hardest things you have to go through in your life. Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know. Please don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s from family or friends, or your care team. We are here to help, and no matter what you need, we’ve likely helped someone else get through the same issue before.

Post-treatment life

Getting through treatment is a massive accomplishment. Even when your treatment is behind you, you’ll have different health care needs for the rest of your life. Working with an experienced team means we can help you stay healthy for decades to come and provide resources to help with everything from school and work to mental and sexual health.

Many of the tips above may continue to be useful as you navigate the transition to post-treatment life. We are also here to help—if you are not yet a patient, please call (650) 498-9404 to schedule an appointment and learn more about our AYA services.