Managing Fear of a New Cancer
It’s completely understandable to worry about developing a new cancer after finishing breast cancer treatment. These fears are common, especially in the first year after treatment, and they often lessen with time. You can take steps to keep this fear from overtaking your daily life.
Managing Fear of a New Cancer
It’s completely understandable to worry about developing a new cancer after finishing breast cancer treatment. These fears are common, especially in the first year after treatment, and they often lessen with time. You can take steps to keep this fear from overtaking your daily life.
If your worry feels overwhelming or starts interfering with how you function, reach out to your health care team. They can guide you, reassure you, and help you find the right support.
You May Find it Helpful to:
- Acknowledge your feelings rather than push them away
- Lean on friends, family, support groups, or a counselor
- Use stress-management tools that work for you
- Learn about your personal risks
- Stick to your follow-up care plan and maintain healthy habits
Genetic Considerations
If you have a genetic mutation (e.g. BRCA, PALB2, CHEK2), you may face a higher risk of certain genetically associated cancers. Your care team will explain what this means for you, help you understand your risk, and create a personalized screening schedule. They can also help you and your family address any concerns about the possibility of additional diagnoses.
Preventative Screening Guidelines
Staying up to date with general cancer screening is an important part of caring for yourself after breast cancer. Your primary care physician can help monitor your overall health and perform or coordinate routine screening tests, including:
Lung Cancer
The most effective way to lower lung cancer risk is to quit smoking if you currently smoke.
- You may qualify for an annual low-dose CT scan of the chest in the future if you have a history of smoking.
- No routine screening is needed if you have no smoking history.
Cervical Cancer
- Age 21–29: Pap smear every 3 years
- Age 30–65: Pap smear every 3 years OR high-risk HPV (hrHPV) testing every 5 years OR cotesting (Pap + hrHPV) every 5 years
Colon Cancer
Age and frequency of screening varies based on your risk. For patients at high risk, screening starts at age 40 or 10 years before the age of diagnosis of colon cancer of their first degree relative (parent, sibling, or child).
For those age 45–75 with average risk: Multiple screening options exist—such as colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, CT scans, and fecal tests. These tests have different capabilities of detecting colon cancer. Colonoscopy allows for detection and biopsy of polyps and colon cancer, and removal of precancerous polyps.
