Having cancer is certainly a misfortune. But after it happens, what you need is the courage to face it and the confidence to overcome it. Breast cancer often takes as little as 2-4 weeks from diagnosis to surgery to discharge from the hospital. However, the treatment of breast cancer is not over yet, the whole treatment cycle takes about six months or even longer. Some patients think: after surgery, they are done; chemotherapy and radiotherapy are done, and they are not on it. It should be noted that follow-up has a significant meaning and should not be neglected as well. Conquering breast cancer requires not only courage and confidence, but also appropriate treatment strategies and proper follow-up guidelines. Surgery and radiotherapy are short-term treatments, but follow-up is the long-term guarantee for the health of breast cancer patients. As the saying goes, it is never too late to mend; adequate and reasonable follow-up is a powerful supplement to treatment. Adequate and reasonable follow-up is a powerful supplement to the treatment. If you can detect the problem early by monitoring in advance, your health status can be firmly in your hands. I: The meaning of follow-up 1. The follow-up process includes the treatment process. After the surgery, the patient will receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy after certain recovery. It is the doctor’s decision whether to do these treatments or not, and each patient is not necessarily the same. Adjuvant chemotherapy often takes 4-6 months and adjuvant radiotherapy takes 1-2 months. Therefore, the first six months of follow-up is crucial to the implementation of the doctor’s treatment decisions. Some people say, then after the radiotherapy is over, won’t it be fine. Of course not, follow-up treatment will be determined by the patient’s hormone receptor status, with some patients taking triamcinolone acetonide or aromatase inhibitors for 5 years or even longer. As you can see, the follow-up process includes all stages of the treatment process, and randomly interrupting the follow-up will undermine the treatment. 2. Early detection of ipsilateral recurrence and contralateral breast cancer. Breast cancer patients are not only at risk of recurrence on the chest wall of the operated side, but also the incidence of contralateral breast cancer is much higher than that of healthy women. The chance of developing contralateral breast cancer in breast cancer patients is 2-11%. Although most chest wall and breast lumps can be detected by their own physical examination, they still require examination by a physician and diagnosis by instruments. The follow-up process is also the recurrence monitoring process, which is directly related to your health. 3.Monitoring distant metastasis and second cancer. Distant metastasis refers to cancer cells metastasizing to distant organs such as bone, liver, lung and lymph nodes and proliferating malignantly. Regular follow-up and whole body examination are especially important. Second cancer refers to the occurrence of other new cancers. This may be related to the patient himself or to factors such as radiotherapy. Although the chance of occurrence is not very high, it is still important to be alert for early detection and early treatment. 4. Significant to medical progress. Cancer has not been conquered in the real sense yet, and it needs to be constantly summarized experience to improve diagnosis and treatment. By observing the changes of patients’ conditions after surgical treatment, clinicians can summarize their experiences and better make reference and guidance for future treatment of the disease. Therefore, a follow-up visit of a patient, though tiny, provides valuable information for clinical epidemiological research and practical experience for clinicians; doctors summarize and promote it in time to adjust their strategies, so that future patients can greatly benefit and promote the progress of social medicine. II: How to follow up? Recommended follow-up time: for the first 2 years, every 3 months. In the next 3 years, the follow-up should be every 6 months, and after 5 years, the follow-up should be once a year. If time is tight, it can be adjusted to every 3-6 months for the first 2 years. After 5 years, the follow-up will be once a year. Recommended follow-up items: Self-examination: monthly self-examination of breast, chest wall and armpit, and timely consultation if abnormalities are found. Mammogram: once a year. Ultrasound (including breast, axillary, abdominal organs and gynecological examinations): 3-6 months, at the clinician’s discretion at each follow-up visit. Not routinely recommended for follow-up: routine blood tests, blood biochemistry Bone scan: once every 1-2 years, not recommended as a routine test unless bone metastases are suspected Chest X-ray, CT, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): once every 1-2 years, unless deemed necessary by the physician during follow-up. CEA, CA-15-3: not routinely recommended. These indicators have more interfering factors and are not as accurate. However, regular testing can be guaranteed during long-term follow-up or may be recommended for metastatic patients. Recommended follow-up hospitals: Hospitals with equipment for the above tests and doctors with expertise in oncology. Surgical treatment is an important part of breast cancer treatment, but it is not the whole treatment. The cure of cancer not only requires professional surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but also depends on the patient’s attention and vigilance to the disease, and the follow-up visit is for the purpose of monitoring the progress of the disease. However, follow up is not to be worried or frightened, but to monitor the problem, find out the problem, face the problem and solve the problem with a very healthy attitude. It is very necessary for patients who have already suffered from breast cancer to mend their problems. Through scientific and reasonable follow-up, get the necessary examination, timely treatment, and firmly control your health condition!