Why Regular Reexamination After Cancer is Cured?

For most diseases, you may not see a doctor any more when you have been cured. But cancer is an exception. When a patient was discharged from hospital, he has always been told to have a regular reexamination. Why?

Results of cancer treatment are divided into four types: cure, improvement, stability and deterioration. Cure generally refers to completely eradicating tumor cells through surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy in the early or mid-term. However, the most important thing to test the treatment is time, for example, five-year survival rate or ten-year survival rate. The emergence of tumor is slow, and the development is covert, it is very difficult for people to find out that. It can be discovered via CT or B-mode ultrasonography only when abundant tumor cells assemble and take shape.

After the clinical treatment, it will take a period of time to find out the recurrence of a mass transfer if there are residual cancer cells. That's one of the reasons why patients should have a regular reexamination after be cured. In addition, many cancer recurrence can be cured if found in time, which may prove the necessity of regular reexamination. Patients should know some symptoms and signs of tumor metastasis and recurrence when they are discharged from hospital, so they can go back to the hospital for an examination immediately when these situations arise. Treatment such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy have certain side effects, including the near- and long-term harm, some symptoms can be reduced through the reexamination and treatment. Additionally post-operative complications may occur, and can be found through reexamination, then can be dealt with in time to promote rehabilitation.