Questions to ask: when treatment finishes

The end of treatment for early breast cancer can be a tricky time for some people. It can be helpful to ask your treatment team questions about your follow-up care, how to manage ongoing side effects of treatment and what to expect in the future.

Below are suggested questions that others have told us are helpful to ask.

Questions to ask your surgeon about your situation

• What is going to happen next?
• Do I need any more tests?
• Can I return to the kinds of activities I was doing before my treatment started?
• Are there any changes to my lifestyle that might help my recovery?
• Is there anything I can do to reduce my risk of breast cancer coming back?
• Who should I contact if I have questions now that treatment is over?

Questions about your follow up care

• Who will manage my follow-up care?
• What will my follow-up care involve?
• How will information about my cancer and treatment be provided to my GP and any other doctors who treat me?
• How often will I need follow-up tests?
• What will my follow-up tests involve?
• Where should I go for my follow-up tests?
• Who will tell me the results of my follow up test?
• Who should I contact if I have questions between follow-up appointments?
• What symptoms should I look out for?
• Who should I tell if I notice a new symptom or side effect?
• Who can I talk to about how I’m feeling?
• Who can I talk to about my family history of breast cancer?
• What will my follow-up care cost?
• How will I know if I am anxious?
• How will I know if I am depressed?
• Which allied health professionals (e.g. physiotherapist, exercise physiologist, lymphoedema therapist) can help manage the side effects of treatment?
• Am I eligible for subsidised visits to allied health professionals under a shared care or mental health plan?
• Can you suggest a support group that might help me?

Questions to ask a complementary therapies practitioner

• Exactly what is the therapy you are proposing?
• What therapy do you recommend and how do you think it could help me?
• What is your training?
• What is the evidence for the success of this therapy?
• What side effects could there be?
• How common are the side effects?
• Will this therapy interfere with or affect my breast cancer treatment(s)?
• How much will any treatment cost?