What to Expect in the Years Following Therapy

Having any type of cancer will undoubtedly change your life. It’s normal to feel frightened and as though your life will never be “normal” again. As you’ve read, the outlook for surviving well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) is generally good – the overall 5-year survival rate is 96%. For more information about thyroid cancer, please visit the Newly Diagnosed section. Once you’ve been through your initial treatment and are taking thyroid hormone therapy, you can likely look forward to a more normal life.

It is still important to bear in mind that recurrences are possible many years — even decades — after treatment. Long-term studies have shown that:

These numbers shouldn’t be frightening, since many recurrences of well-differentiated thyroid cancer are treatable. However, the prognosis is improved if you catch a recurrence relatively early. As you can see, it’s important to keep having follow-up tests.

In the first few years after treatment for thyroid cancer, your doctor may want to do routine tests relatively often. Depending on your doctor’s recommendation and your individual condition, you may go for tests annually, or perhaps more frequently until you and your doctor are comfortable with less frequent monitoring.

Regular follow-ups can include:

Even though most routine examinations may not uncover anything to be concerned about, it is possible that you may develop recurrent cancer in the thyroid area or in other areas of the body. More information about this possibility can be found in the Recurrence section.