What if your cancer comes back?

There may come a time when you need further treatment because your cancer has come back. This can be a devastating experience, but it does not mean that the cancer cannot be treated again. Many cancers can be treated even after they have come back (recurred) for a second or third time.

However, sometimes further treatment will no longer cure the cancer. If this is the case, your doctor may suggest treatments that will prolong your life and help to keep you as well as possible for as long as possible. If no further treatments can be given to control the cancer, medicines can still be used to relieve any symptoms you may have that are caused by the cancer.

This can be a frightening time for you, and you may feel that you need extra support. Our experienced cancer nurses can help you and people close to you, by talking through the thoughts, feelings and fears that a recurrence of cancer can bring.

Our section on coping with advanced cancer may be helpful.

You may want to look into whether any new treatments are being tested in research trials for your type of cancer. If you want to explore this further, you should speak to your hospital specialist, who can find out whether there are any new treatments that would be suitable for you.

Our section on cancer research trials explains clinical trials in more depth.