Life After Cancer: Survivorship
The end of cancer treatment can be exciting but stressful. You may feel relief but also uncertainty about the future.
Concerns about the cancer returning, how to regain your strength, or how often you should follow-up with testing can cause significant anxiety. Our goal at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care is to support you and provide resources to make your life after cancer the best it can be.
Life After Treatment Visit
To provide you with the information and resources to thrive after treatment, we will schedule a Life After Treatment visit about three months after your treatment ends. This visit is important, as we'll discuss what you may experience after treatment ends and the plan for your ongoing care.
- We'll provide you and your primary care provider with a treatment summary, a detailed summary of your diagnosis and treatment. We want to make sure you have an accurate record of the medical care you received for your cancer diagnosis, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and other treatments.
- We'll talk about how cancer may have affected you physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially and socially and connect you with the resources you need to help you heal and recover from your diagnosis.
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We'll discuss physical and emotional wellness and recommend ways to improve your health and reduce your risk of recurrence of cancer through healthy eating, physical activity, weight management and quitting smoking.
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Most importantly, we'll discuss what is important to you at this time and how we can best help you achieve your goals.
Cancer and the treatments for cancer can have devastating effects on the body. Side effects may include fatigue, pain, balance issues, limb swelling (lymphedema), memory problems, weakness, problems with swallowing or talking or limited mobility.
If you have any of these issues, our clinicians will develop a personal rehab plan to get you back to the highest quality of life. Please talk to your health care provider or nurse navigator about a referral to the program. Our goal is to decrease the side effects of cancer and its treatments and to maximize your quality of life.
Statistics show that one in four patients will develop lymphedema if they have had lymph nodes surgically removed or treated with radiation. The good news is that many cases of lymphedema can be prevented with education and early treatment.
MaineGeneral has occupational and physical therapists who are specially trained in the prevention and treatment of lymphedema. Ask your provider if you can benefit from a referral to this program.
Wellness and Healthy Living
Are you looking for some new tools to get healthier? MaineGeneral’s Peter Alfond Prevention & Healthy Living Center (PAPHLC) offers a variety of low-cost and free classes and online demonstrations to support your health with an integrated mind, body, heart approach.
Classes focus on supporting lifestyle changes that reduce and eliminate chronic health conditions and support healthy living and healing.
View Our Class Offerings
Please note that due to COVID-19 restructions, some in-person classes have been suspended or are being offered online.
The PAPHLC also has a YouTube channel that includes a variety of demonstrations and lessons. You can view the playlist of video offerings for each topic through the following links:
For more information, please call (207) 872-4102 or email PHL@mainegeneral.org.
