Why is it necessary to follow up after treatment of head and neck tumors?

Because of the possibility of recurrence after tumor treatment, early detection and early treatment can maximize the survival rate. Follow-up examinations should be conducted regularly, once every one to three months for many years at first; the frequency of follow-up examinations depends mainly on the patient’s condition and the patient’s disease. In addition, some tumors require follow-up treatment after treatment, and the purpose of follow-up is not only to check whether they have recurrence, but also to urge patients to standardize follow-up treatment. For example, after thyroid cancer surgery, the review should be done every three months in the first year, every six months in the second year, and every year from the third year. If the condition allows (review), it should be accompanied for life. After surgery for papillary thyroid cancer, thyroxine tablets should be taken to inhibit the release of thyrotropin-releasing hormone from the pituitary gland and to reduce the proliferation of thyroid tissue, which also reduces the recurrence rate of thyroid cancer. At regular follow-up, the condition of the thyroid gland is checked, as the dose of thyroxine tablets should be adjusted according to the situation. What information do tumor patients need to bring to their follow-up examinations? With the awareness of malignant tumors and the improvement of tumor cure rate, the number of tumor patients who go to cancer hospitals or general hospitals for follow-up examinations is increasing day by day. However, most of the tumor patients and their family members do not know what they should bring to the hospital for follow-up checkup. They often bring all the daily necessities and money, but forget to bring the medical history information necessary for diagnosis and treatment, which increases a lot of trouble and even leads to repeated examination and delayed treatment. In fact, when tumor patients go to hospital for review, the first thing they should bring is their previous outpatient or inpatient medical records, including various examination reports, diagnosis results and treatment records. If the patient has ever received surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, then the surgery records, chemotherapy records and radiotherapy records are required to be provided to the doctor. In short, all information related to previous medical visits should be brought as much as possible. Such information can not only help the doctor to quickly and accurately understand the patient’s previous diagnosis and treatment and the current situation for comparison, but also avoid duplicate examinations, reduce cost expenditure, save time and enable the patient to receive treatment as soon as possible. What are the physical rehabilitation measures for cancer patients? After cancer patients have undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, there is a significant decrease in physical ability. If they only adopt the method of long-term bed rest, muscle atrophy, tissue degeneration and organ function decline may occur. Therefore, in addition to regular checkups and comprehensive treatment, patients who have undergone surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy should also make a gradual physical recovery plan for themselves during the recovery period, so that their daily diet and living can form a good routine and the physiological activities of all body tissues and organs can function normally according to the rhythm, which is conducive to the recovery of the disease body. Cancer patients should make a suitable physical exercise plan for their own physical recovery. Walking is a more suitable exercise for cancer patients. Long-term walking can increase lung capacity, enhance heart function and adjust internal metabolism. The location of walking can be chosen according to the disease, and the lighter ones can go outdoors while the heavier ones should go indoors. Walking in the morning can bring fresh air, and walking after meals can promote digestion; washing feet with warm water after walking before bedtime is good for sleep. Learning health care exercises and health care qigong are also helpful for cancer patients to recover their physical strength. Patients can also take part in some recreational activities according to their own hobbies, such as listening to music, practicing qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, which are all beneficial to improve physical fitness.