Follow up after prostate cancer treatment

Why you have follow up appointments

You usually have follow up appointments to check how you are. And to see whether you have any problems or worries. The appointments also give you the chance to raise any concerns you have about your progress.

How often are my follow up appointments?

How often you see your specialist depends on:

• how you are feeling

• the type of treatment you have had

Ask your doctor or specialist nurse how often your follow up appointments are likely to be. 

Treatment to cure your cancer

Your first follow up appointment is usually at least 6 weeks after treatment. Then, your follow up will be every 6 months for 2 to 5 years. And at least once a year after that.

To begin with, you usually go for check ups at the hospital outpatients. After 2 years, you might have your appointments with your GP. Instead of seeing the doctor in a clinic, you might be able to have a telephone consultation. 

In some hospitals, you might be able to have your PSA test done at your GP. Your doctor and clinical nurse specialist will then monitor the results. They contact you if there is a problem. 

Monitoring your cancer

You might not have had treatment. The doctors monitor you instead with watchful waiting or active surveillance. If you have watchful waiting, then you have check ups at least once a year. You have this at your GP. With active surveillance, you have check ups every 6 months with your specialist doctor. 

Find out more about active surveillance and watchful waiting

Metastatic or advanced prostate cancer

Metastatic prostate cancer is cancer that began in the prostate and has spread to another part of the body. You might see the doctor more often if you have metastatic prostate cancer. This depends on your symptoms and what treatment you are having.

Find out more about metastatic prostate cancer

What happens?

Your doctor or nurse examines you at each appointment. They ask how you are feeling, whether you have had any symptoms or side effects, and if you are worried about anything. You might also have tests at some visits.

You might have:

• blood tests

• a bone marrow test

Patient initiated follow up (PIFU)

Patient initiated follow up (PIFU) is an option for some people after treatment for bowel cancer.

Patient initiated follow up (PIFU) is a way of running check ups. This system leaves it to you to take the lead in arranging to see your doctor or specialist nurse. You might also hear this called open access follow up (OAFU).

When you first finish treatment, your hospital arranges your appointments. But once your doctors are happy with your progress you can arrange them yourself. You can do this as often as you feel you need to.

You might want to make an appointment if you:

• have noticed a change in your body that worries you

• feel it is time you had a check up, even though you don't have any particular worries

In some situations, your specialist will ask you to book in for a particular test every so often.

This system means you can organise appointments to suit your own health needs. It also means that clinics aren’t full of people who might not need to see their doctor. This helps the hospital to keep waiting times short, so you can get an appointment quickly when you need one.