For many people with cancer, making the transition from receiving active care to a post-treatment reality is a time filled with mixed emotions.
There’s relief at having been treated successfully, but anxiety about the disease relapsing. There’s happiness about ending time-consuming treatments that may have caused uncomfortable side effects, but sadness about leaving behind a care team that has come to feel like a second family.
The University of Colorado Cancer Center has many programs in place to help patients successfully navigate the transition, says Carlin Callaway, DNP, who is part of the cancer center’s survivorship team for patients with solid tumors. Callaway reaches out to patients when they are done with treatment and stepping into surveillance, providing a summary they can share with their primary care team, making sure they know what their follow-up plan is, and making sure they're set up for success going forward.
We sat down with Callaway to talk about the most important aspects of a post-treatment life.