Breast Cancer Continued Care
Overview
There have been many improvements in breast cancer treatments. We have new ways to find breast cancer early. We have more treatments that target certain types of breast cancer.
In recent years, these new treatments mean more people are surviving breast cancer.
We know you may have questions about what comes next. We’re ready to help you move forward. At MSK, we help you and your loved ones find the right kind of support.
Cancer treatment can cause late side effects months or years after treatment. If this happens, you will have a follow-up care plan from a team of MSK breast cancer experts. Our focus is making sure you have a full and healthy life after your treatment.
Here are MSK’s resources to support you after treatment.
MSK helps you live your best life after breast cancer treatment ends. Our Adult Survivorship Program helps you focus on health and wellness. Our experts will guide you to the right kind of support, such as rehabilitation and exercise, nutritional counseling, or tobacco cessation.
Follow-up care after breast cancer treatment
Sarah Sanders was diagnosed at age 34 with triple-negative breast cancer.
It’s normal to worry about your cancer coming back after you finish treatment. At MSK, you’ll keep seeing your breast care team 1 to 4 times a year, based on your personal needs.
Your team will now include an Advanced Practice Provider (APP). Your APP is a healthcare provider with advanced training in breast cancer and follow-up care. They work closely with the experts who cared for you during treatment.
You can always ask your APP for advice about life after treatment.
When you meet with your APP, they will monitor (look for) any signs the cancer has come back.
Your APP will check carefully to prevent, spot, and control any after effects of the disease or treatment.
MSK's Cancer Straight Talk explores breast cancer treatment and life after treatment. Learn about chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and side effects, and learn how cancer survivors can cope with their emotions.
- Check for signs of recurrence (the cancer has come back).
- Look for any side effects and put a plan in place to manage them.
- Make recommendations about healthy living, such as good nutrition, exercise, and quitting tobacco.
- Make a treatment summary and follow-up care plan for you.
- Schedule consultations with MSK experts, if you need them.
It’s normal to feel nervous before follow-up visits. In the days before your appointment, schedule activities that can help distract you from worrying. Try going for walks, doing a calming exercise like yoga, or listening to a soothing meditation. It can really help.
Some breast cancer treatments can cause side effects. At MSK, your breast cancer follow-up care team has options to treat these new challenges. Side effects of treatment may include:
- Osteoporosis (bone loss and weak bones)
- Hormonal changes
- Cognitive changes, such as memory loss and poor mental focus
- Nerve problems
- Pelvic exams and bone density tests: If you’ve taken hormones as part of treatment, your doctor may use these tests to watch for side effects.
- Lymphedema treatment: If treatment affected some or all the lymph nodes under your arms, you may develop lymphedema. This is swelling that can cause pain in your arms. Treatment for lymphedema often includes massage, compression, and exercise.
- Pain treatment: Sometimes breast cancer treatment can cause chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). This is pain in the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.
Our Neuromodulation Center for Cancer Pain is the New York City area’s only center focused on relieving pain related to cancer.
MSK offers a special lymphedema screening and prevention program. We can identify people who are at high risk for getting lymphedema so we can treat them early. Our methods improve the quality of life for people with lymphedema. Treatment often helps Black and Hispanic women the most.
You may be in treatment now, or nearing the end of your treatment. You probably have questions about what life will look like when it’s over. Our experts have the answers to your questions about life after treatment.
Is there anything I can do to stay sexually active and healthy after breast cancer?
Yes. Cancer affects your sex life in physical and emotional ways. You may have physical changes that affect intimacy. You may be worried about:
- Your ability to enjoy and want sex after breast reconstruction.
- Early menopause. Hormone-blocking drugs to treat breast cancer can make your hormone levels fall quickly, causing menopause.
Early menopause can cause sexual and vaginal health problems, such as vaginal dryness and discomfort.
There are ways to treat these issues. MSK’s Female Sexual Medicine & Women’s Health Program can help you manage challenges affecting your sex life.
I want to have a family one day. Is there anything I can do to protect my fertility?
Some cancer treatments can cause fertility problems that affect your ability to have a biological child. Fertility problems from cancer treatment can be temporary or permanent.
Chemotherapy and hormone therapy can affect your ovaries and estrogen levels. Treatment can cause early menopause. Read Common Questions About Fertility After Cancer Treatment to learn more.
Options to preserve fertility before cancer treatment starts include egg freezing and embryo freezing.
MSK has experts in preserving your fertility before and after breast cancer treatment.
I’m feeling worried and sad after treatment. Is that normal?
Life during and after breast cancer can feel lonely. You may think no one else understands what you’re going through. You may feel stressed, anxious, left out, or angry.
It can help to talk to someone with special training in emotional and mental health support for people treated for cancer. They can help you make sense of your experience before, during, and after cancer treatment.
MSK’s cancer mental health team can help you cope with emotional and social challenges. We offer individual and group counseling sessions, both in person and through telemedicine visits.
Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Our experienced breast surgeons can reconstruct (rebuild) the shape and look of the breasts and nipples after breast surgery. They’re known around the world for their skill in performing all types of breast reconstruction.
We also have experts trained in the latest 3D nipple and areola tattooing methods.
Many people choose to have breast reconstruction surgery at the time of treatment. Others wait to have surgery until after treatment ends.
There are a few types of breast reconstruction. Talk with your surgeon about your options, and which one is right for you. Together you can choose the best way forward.
Our surgeons work to meet your goals, and to get you back to your life before breast reconstruction surgery.
Cancer can affect how you live, work, play, and age. MSK was the first U.S. cancer center to start an integrative medicine program. Our goal is to improve your health during and after treatment. We have a long history of studying complementary therapies. They’re safe and can help people with cancer.
Our experts offer the latest breast reconstruction methods. We’re here for you every step of the way.
How we support you after treatment
MSK experts in rehabilitation and physical therapy can help you get your strength back.
At MSK, our cancer experts are here to help you live a full and healthy life after cancer treatment. We focus on all aspects of your life, such as nutrition, emotional support, and dealing with side effects of treatment.
We will help you and your loved ones get the resources and care you need as you adjust to this new phase.
We have experts in rehabilitation and exercise for people after cancer treatment
Research shows exercise can help with recovery from cancer and lower the long-term effects of some treatments.
MSK is a leader in research on the benefits of staying active during and after cancer. Our exercise specialists will make a plan just for your needs.
You can learn more about exercise and cancer in this Cancer Straight Talk from MSK podcast episode, “Making Every Step Count.”
We also have exercises for beginners, for people who already exercise, and for exercising after breast surgery.
Our rehabilitation experts can help you feel better as you get back to your life after treatment.
Our experts can help you manage pain and side effects that can start months after treatment ends
Supportive care is an important part of how we improve your quality of life during and after treatment. These therapies can help with side effects that happen months or years later.
Supportive care can also improve your emotional and spiritual health. MSK’s supportive care experts work with all members of your care team. They make a personal plan for you based on your goals and values. Supportive care can help you with:
- Pain
- Fatigue (feeling very tired)
- Insomnia (trouble falling and staying asleep)
- Nausea (feeling like throwing up)
- Anxiety
We help you cope with pain after treatment
We’re experts in managing the side effects of treatment for breast cancer.
Pain management is an important part of cancer care. MSK was the first cancer center in the country to have a service just for treating pain in people with cancer.
Our pain experts will help relieve or manage pain after surgery. They can help while you’re still in the hospital, and after you are home.
We also have a team of experts who manage the symptoms and side effects of cancer treatment.
MSK nutrition experts can help you with changes in your appetite and digestion after cancer treatment
Breast cancer treatment can affect your digestion (how your body breaks food). It can change your taste, how you can eat, and how hungry you are.
Our clinical dietitian nutritionists can answer your questions about what you can and should eat. They can help with:
- Planning healthy meals at home.
- Advice about special diets.
- Dealing with food allergies.
- Managing symptoms such as weight loss or gain, and loss of appetite.
Learn about help with controlling weight gain before and after breast cancer treatment.
Our integrative medicine service has experts in many kinds of complementary therapies after treatment
Our Integrative Medicine Service (also called complementary therapies) offers acupuncture, meditation, massage therapy, yoga, and exercise.
Cancer therapies can cause side effects. You may want support to cope with chronic pain, fatigue (feeling very tired), nerve problems, nausea, insomnia, and stress.
Without using prescription drugs, integrative therapies can help improve and control these lasting side effects of cancer treatments.
Integrative medicine services are available in New York City, New Jersey, Westchester, and on Long Island. We also offer virtual classes and workshops.
MSK bone health experts treat osteoporosis and osteopenia caused by breast cancer treatments
We’ll assess your bone health after treatment.
You’ll have a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan of your hips and spine to check for signs of weaker bones. It’s quick, painless, and uses only a little radiation.
You may also have blood tests, urine tests, or both to assess bone loss.
To learn more, read Osteoporosis and Osteopenia and How to Improve Bone Health.
Breast cancer treatments can affect bone health. MSK osteoporosis experts help prevent and treat bone loss. We’re also researching how breast cancer treatments affect bone density. You may be able to join our clinical trial for people treated with aromatase inhibitors and denosumab.
We’re always looking at new ways to improve life after cancer treatment. Explore breast cancer news from MSK.
Learn about the latest research on acupuncture from MSK and how our investigators are studying the benefits of acupuncture for relieving the side effects of cancer and its therapies.