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Living as a Breast Cancer Survivor
Finishing breast cancer treatment can be both stressful and exciting. For many people, treatment can fully remove or destroy the cancer. You might be relieved, but it can also be hard not to worry about cancer coming back. This is a very common concern.
For other people, breast cancer may never completely go away. You may still get regular treatments to help keep the cancer under control and relieve your symptoms. Learning to live with cancer that doesn’t go away can be difficult, but many people find ways to manage their health and maintain a good quality of life.
No matter what your situation is, there are steps you can take to live well, both physically and emotionally.
On this page
- Follow-up care
- Staying prepared and organized
- Lowering the risk of cancer progressing or coming back
- If the cancer comes back
- Can I get a second cancer after treatment?
- Can I safely take menopausal hormone therapy?
- Body image and sexuality after breast cancer
- Having a baby after breast cancer
- Finding help and support
Follow-up care
Even if you’ve finished treatment, your cancer care team will still watch you closely. It's important to understand your care schedule and go to all your follow-up appointments.
What is a survivorship care plan?
Talk with your healthcare team about creating a survivorship care plan for you. This plan can guide your next steps after treatment, including follow-up appointments and ways to stay healthy.
It might include:
- A suggested schedule for follow-up exams and tests
- A timeline for other tests, such as monitoring for long-term health effects from your cancer or treatment
- A list of possible late or long-term side effects, including what to watch for and when to contact your healthcare team
- Diet and physical activity suggestions
- Reminders to keep seeing your primary care provider (PCP) for regular healthcare and cancer screening tests
What is the usual follow-up schedule after breast cancer?
Even if you finish treatment for breast cancer, you’ll still see your cancer care team regularly. During these follow-up visits, your care team will examine you and ask if you’re having any problems.
Your follow-up schedule will depend on many factors. This could include the type of breast cancer you had, the stage (extent) of the cancer, and how it was or is being treated.
Blood tests and imaging tests are not usually needed after treatment for most early-stage breast cancers, but you might need tests if you have certain symptoms. These tests can help your cancer care team find out if the symptoms are from the cancer returning or from treatment-related side effects.
If you’ve finished treatment, your follow-up visits will probably be every 3 to 6 months at first. The longer you are cancer-free, the less often you will need appointments.
After 5 years, follow-up appointments usually happen about once a year.
After breast-conserving surgery: If you had a lumpectomy or partial mastectomy, you will probably need a mammogram:
- About 6 to 12 months after you finish surgery and radiation.
- At least every year after that, until at least age 75.
After mastectomy: Most people who have their entire breast removed with a mastectomy no longer need mammograms on that side. But if you only had one breast removed, you still need yearly mammograms on the remaining breast.
To learn more, see Mammograms After Breast Cancer Surgery.
The hormone medicines tamoxifen and toremifene can increase your risk of uterine (endometrial) cancer. This risk is highest if you’ve gone through menopause.
If you take either of these medicines and still have your uterus, your healthcare team might recommend regular pelvic exams.
Tell your healthcare team right away if you have any unusual vaginal bleeding, such as bleeding or spotting after menopause, bleeding or spotting between periods, or a change in your periods. While this type of bleeding is usually not related to anything serious, it can be the first sign of uterine cancer.
Your healthcare team will monitor your bone health if treatment puts you into menopause or if you are taking a type of hormone medicine called an aromatase inhibitor (AI). Examples of AIs include anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane.
Your healthcare team may consider testing your bone density with a DXA scan every 1 to 2 years.
Blood and imaging tests are not a standard part of follow-up for most people who've been treated for breast cancer. But you might get one or more of these tests if your symptoms or physical exam findings suggest your cancer may have returned.
Imaging tests could include x-rays, CT scans, PET scans, MRI scans, or bone scans. If a test or other finding suggests cancer, you might also get a biopsy.
Managing side effects
Almost any cancer treatment can have side effects. Some only last for a few days or weeks, but others might last a long time. Some side effects might not even show up until years after you finish treatment.
Your follow-up visits are a good time to ask questions and talk about any changes or problems you notice or concerns you have. However, if concerns about your cancer come up between visits, do not wait until your next scheduled appointment. Call your healthcare team right away.
Questions to ask your healthcare team
- Do I need a special diet after treatment?
- Should I be doing any type of exercise?
- Are there any limits on what I can do?
- Am I at risk for lymphedema? How can I reduce this risk?
- What should I do if I notice swelling in my arm?
- What other symptoms should I watch for?
- What type of follow-up will I need after treatment? How often?
- How will we know if the cancer comes back? What should I watch for?
- What will my options be if this happens?
Staying prepared and organized
Even if you’ve completed treatment, it’s still important to be organized and stay on top of your health. Keeping your medical records and health insurance coverage in order will make it easier for you to manage follow-up care, future checkups, and any new concerns that come up.
Keep your health insurance
As a breast cancer survivor, it’s very important to keep your health insurance. Insurance can help cover the cost of follow-up visits, tests, and any care you may need in the future. No one wants to think about cancer coming back, but it’s best to be prepared.
Save your medical records
At some point, you may see a new doctor who doesn’t know your cancer history. Keep copies of your medical records, or have access to them, so you can easily share the details of your diagnosis and treatment.
Lowering the risk of cancer progressing or coming back
You might want to know if you can do anything to lower your risk of breast cancer growing or coming back. Breast cancer is one of the most-studied types of cancer in this regard. Research has shown that controlling your weight, being physically active, and eating well may help lower your risk of breast cancer coming back.
If the cancer comes back
If breast cancer does return, your treatment options will depend on where it comes back, what treatments you've had before, and your current health and preferences. For more information, see Treatment of Recurrent Breast Cancer.
Can I get a second cancer after treatment?
Some cancer survivors develop a new, unrelated cancer after treatment. This is called a second cancer. Women who’ve had breast cancer can get any type of second cancer, but they are at higher risk for certain types.
As a breast cancer survivor, it’s important to follow the American Cancer Society guidelines for early detection, such as those for colorectal cancer and cervical cancer.
Can I safely take menopausal hormone therapy?
Some people take post-menopausal hormone therapy (PHT) to help with menopause symptoms. You might also hear this called hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
This may not be safe for women who’ve had breast cancer. There are other ways to relieve menopause symptoms without hormone therapy.
Body image and sexuality after breast cancer
Learning to be comfortable with your body during and after breast cancer treatment is a personal journey that is different for everyone. Information and support can help you cope with these changes over time.
Along with the emotional, mental, and financial stresses caused by breast cancer and treatment, many people also find themselves coping with changes in their appearance. Learning to cope and adjust to these changes often takes time.
Some changes are permanent, such as losing part or all of a breast, or both breasts, after surgery. Other changes, like hair loss, may be temporary. But even short-term changes can have a profound effect on how you feel about yourself.
Hair loss
A number of options are available to help you cope with hair loss. This includes wigs, hats, scarves, and other accessories. Alternatively, some people choose to use their baldness as a way to identify themselves as breast cancer survivors.
Learn more in Hair Loss.
Losing all or part of a breast
After breast cancer surgery, some people choose reconstruction to rebuild their breast mound. Other people choose not to reconstruct. If you decide not to have breast reconstruction, you can choose whether or not to wear a breast form.
Learn more in Breast Reconstruction Surgery.
It’s normal to have concerns about sexuality and sexual side effects after breast cancer. Physical changes can make some people less comfortable with their bodies, especially after breast surgery. You may also have little or no feeling in all or part of your affected breast.
Other treatments, such as chemotherapy and hormone therapy, can change your hormone levels. This could affect your sexual interest and response.
Cancer can affect your relationship with your partner in other ways, too. Your partner might worry about how to express love physically and emotionally, especially after surgery. But breast cancer can also bring couples closer together, especially when both partners attend treatments and take part in decision making.
To learn more, see Sexual Side Effects.
Having a baby after breast cancer
Some breast cancer treatments can affect your fertility, meaning your ability to have children.
If you are of childbearing age and thinking about starting or growing your family, talk to your healthcare team. They can help you understand your fertility, your options for starting a family, and whether or not you need to wait before becoming pregnant. They can also answer questions and concerns about breastfeeding after cancer treatment.
Finding help and support
When cancer is a part of your life, it's normal to feel some amount of depression, anxiety, or worry. Some people are affected more than others. But everyone can benefit from help and support, whether this is from friends and family, religious groups, support groups, professional counselors, or others.
Advice and support is available to help you cope.
- Speaking with your healthcare team is often a good starting point.
- You can also find support by connecting with an ACS CARES volunteer who had breast cancer. They can answer many of your questions and give you suggestions, reading material, and advice.
If your feelings are getting in the way of daily life, a counselor or a support group can often help. The American Cancer Society (ACS) can put you in touch with a group or resource that may work for you.
- The ACS National Cancer Information Center is available 24/7 at 1-800-227-2345.
- You can also learn more in Life After Cancer.
- Written by
- References
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Henry NL, Shah PD, Haider I, et al. Chapter 88: Cancer of the breast. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, Kastan MB, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier; 2020.
Jagsi R, King TA, Lehman C, et al. Chapter 79: Malignant tumors of the breast. In: DeVita VT, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA, eds. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2019.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Breast Cancer. Version 2.2026. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org on April 15, 2026.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Survivorship. Version 2.2026. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org on April 15, 2026.
Ruddy KJ, Partridge AH. Approach to the patient following treatment for breast cancer. UpToDate. 2026. Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/approach-to-the-patient-following-treatment-for-breast-cancer on April 15, 2026.
Runowicz CD, Leach CR, Henry NL, et al. American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34(6):611-635.
Last Revised: July 17, 2026
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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