Cancer Recurrence

Doctors define recurrent cancers by where they develop.

• Local recurrence:
This means that the cancer is in the same place as the original cancer or is very close to it.


• Regional recurrence:
This is defined as tumor growth in lymph nodes or tissues near the place of the original cancer.


• Distant recurrence:
  In these cases, the cancer has spread (metastasized) to organs or tissues far from the place of the original cancer.

Local cancer may be easier to treat than regional or distant cancer. However, these details vary in each individual person.

Taking Control: Your Care and Treatment

After going through cancer once, having it return often presents significant challenges.

There are many treatment choices for recurrent cancer. Your treatment will depend partly on the type of cancer and the treatment you had before. It will also depend on where the cancer has recurred. It is important to ask your doctor questions about all your treatment choices.

• A local recurrence may be best treated by surgery and/or radiation therapy. This means that the doctor removes the tumor or destroys it with radiation.
• A distant recurrence may need chemotherapy, biological therapy, radiation therapy, or other therapies.
• A clinical trial may be an option for you depending upon your diagnosis.

CISN strongly recommends that you seek out multiple opinions about treatments for your diagnosis. If you get a second opinion, the doctor may agree with your first doctor’s treatment plan. Or the second doctor may suggest another approach.

Either way, you have more information and perhaps a greater sense of control. You can feel more confident about the decisions you make, knowing that you’ve looked at your options. Many health insurance companies will pay for additional opinions.

Questions about Treatment Choices for a Recurrence

Here is a list of questions about treatment choices for a recurrence that you can expand upon to customize to your individual situation.

• How long will I be on this treatment?

• Will I have side effects? If so, how long will they last?

• How can I manage the side effects?

• Will I have to stay in the hospital?

• Is a clinical trial available to me?

• Will I have to pay any costs in a clinical trial?

• If the treatment doesn't work, then what will I do?

For some, cancer is not a one-time event. Cancer can recur one or more times. For people who are able to control their disease over many years, cancer is considered a chronic illness.

The cancer may never go away completely, and yet people in this situation can live well over long periods of time. Although recurrent disease may not be cured, in some cases, it can be controlled. There is a chance that the cancer will go back into remission. For some people, the natural history of some cancers is one of recurrence and remission.

Every situation is unique depending upon many factors, including the location, stage, necessary frequency of treatments, available support systems, financial resources, age, and lifestyle preferences.

Repeated recurrences, often with shorter time periods in between disease-free intervals and/or treatment rounds, can be especially challenging for patients and their loved ones. The question of whether or not to continue treating cancer that repeatedly comes back is an important and difficult one to consider.