Cancer Related Pain: Post-radiation therapy

Once your course of radiation therapy is finished, continuing to take good care of yourself is essential. No matter what type of cancer you’ve had, you will need regular checkups and perhaps lab tests and X-rays to determine how successful the treatment was and if you need additional therapy.

The doctor who referred you for radiation therapy will schedule follow-up visits as needed. During your follow-up care, your doctor may recommend more cancer treatment, rehabilitation, and counseling, depending on how you are coping and how your body is responding to your cancer care. Others are referred back to their primary care doctor, to a surgeon, or to a medical oncologist—a doctor who is trained to give chemotherapy (treatment with anticancer drugs). The kind of follow-up care you need will depend on the kind of cancer you have and on other treatments that you previously underwent or may need going forward.