Lung Cancer Continued Care
Overview
There have been many improvements in lung cancer treatments. We have new treatments that target certain types of lung cancer. MSK experts have seen these therapies slow lung cancer’s growth and raise the chance of recovery.
These innovations may help people with lung cancer get back to their lives and usual activities.
Cancer treatment can still cause late side effects months or years after treatment. If this happens, you will have a follow-up care plan from a team of MSK lung cancer experts. Our focus is making sure you have a full and healthy life during and after your care.
We know you may have questions about what comes next. We’re ready to help you move forward. At MSK, we help you and your loved ones find the right kind of support.
Here are MSK’s resources to support you after treatment.
MSK helps you live your best life after lung cancer treatment ends. Our Adult Survivorship Program helps you focus on health and wellness. Our experts will guide you to the right kind of support, such as rehabilitation and exercise, nutritional counseling, or tobacco cessation.
Follow-up care after lung cancer treatment
Nurse practitioner Amy Devigne offers follow-up care with MSK’s Lung Cancer Survivorship Program.
How does MSK monitor you for lung cancer after treatment?
Our Lung Cancer Survivorship Program meets your needs after you finish treatment. Lung cancer and its treatment causes side effects. There’s also a chance the lung cancer comes back.
For many people, cancer will come back. Follow-up exams are very important. You’re also more likely to develop a second primary lung cancer. This is a new tumor that’s not related to your first lung cancer.
You’ll keep seeing your MSK lung care team 1 to 2 times a year, based on your personal needs.
Your team will now include a nurse practitioner (NP). This is a registered nurse (RN) with special advanced training in lung cancer and follow-up care. They work closely with the experts who cared for you during treatment.
When you meet with your NP, they’ll monitor (look for) any signs the cancer has come back.
Your NP will check carefully to prevent, spot, and control any late effects of the disease or treatment.
It’s normal to feel nervous before follow-up visits. In the days before your appointment, schedule activities that can help distract you from worrying. Try going for walks, doing a calming exercise like yoga, or listening to a soothing meditation. It can really help.
- Check for signs of recurrence (the cancer has come back).
- Look for any side effects and put a plan in place to manage them.
- Make recommendations about healthy living, such as good nutrition, exercise, and quitting tobacco.
- Make a treatment summary and follow-up care plan for you.
- Schedule consultations with MSK experts, if you need them.
What happens at your survivorship follow-up visits?
During the visit, your NP will:
- Give you a physical exam and review your health history.
- Ask if you have shortness of breath or feel very tired.
- Schedule imaging tests to check for early signs of cancer.
- Find, evaluate, and manage any long-term or late effects of cancer and its treatment. They’ll look for both physical and psychological effects.
- Talk with you about ways to prevent new health problems. They’ll make health recommendations about eating healthy foods, exercising, and quitting smoking.
- Recommend any cancer screenings you may need.
Your NP works closely with your treatment team. After each follow-up visit, your NP will update your other healthcare providers. They’ll share your treatment summary and survivorship care plan with your primary care doctor and any other healthcare providers.
Amy Devigne
Nurse Practitioner
Alison Berkowitz Hergianto
Nurse Practitioner
Kathleen Leary
Nurse Practitioner
What other follow-up care is needed after lung cancer treatment?
Some lung cancer treatments can cause side effects. Your MSK lung cancer follow-up care team has options to treat these new challenges. Side effects of treatment can include:
- Shortness of breath (feeling out of breath)
- Fatigue (feeling tired)
- Cognitive changes, such as memory loss and poor mental focus
- Nerve problems
- Trouble swallowing
Breathing and respiratory therapy
Our Post-Operative Pulmonary Program is led by experts in cancer rehabilitation. You’ll meet with physical therapists and respiratory (breathing) therapists. They work with your lung cancer care team.
Our respiratory therapists will first watch how you’re breathing. They’ll make a plan to help you breathe better after treatment.
Physical therapy after lung surgery
If you have surgery, MSK’s physical therapists are here to help you recover. We have physical therapists at MSK locations close to you. When you meet with your physical therapist, they’ll watch for:
- How your lungs sound when you breathe.
- How deeply or quickly you breathe.
- How well you can cough and manage phlegm. That’s the thick mucus that lines the airway and lungs.
- How you can do your daily activities.
Pain treatment
Sometimes lung cancer treatment can cause chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Nerve damage can cause weakness, numbness, pain, and tingling (pins and needles). It can start months after your treatment ended.
Our Neuromodulation Center for Cancer Pain is the New York City area’s only center focused on pain related to cancer.
Lung cancer survivors need active management and monitoring. MSK’s Lung Cancer Survivorship Program launched in 2006 to give close follow-up care. Survivors can have lasting side effects, such as pain, depression, insomnia, and fatigue. They’re also at higher risk for getting a second lung tumor.
Common questions after lung cancer treatment
You may be in treatment now or nearing the end of your treatment. You probably have questions about what life will look like when your treatment is over. Our experts have the answers to your questions about life after treatment.
Yes. Lung surgery and cancer treatment can cause side effects such as shortness of breath and fatigue. We can help you get back to doing the things that matter most to you.
Your nurse practitioner will make a follow-up care plan just for you. They’ll recommend supportive therapies to help you feel more like yourself. Your care plan can include safe exercises that help with side effects.
MSK’s Integrative Medicine Service has virtual classes to help improve your breathing and energy. An MSK instructor with special training in cancer care leads every class. You can try:
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Tai chi
- Core strength
Life during and after lung cancer can feel lonely. You may think no one else understands what you’re going through. You may feel stressed, anxious, left out, or angry.
It can help to talk to someone with special training in cancer mental health. They can help you make sense of your experience before, during, and after cancer treatment.
MSK’s trained cancer mental health team can help you cope with emotional and social challenges. We offer individual and group counseling sessions, both in person and through telemedicine visits. We also have free, online support groups.
Yes. Our experts in the Tobacco Treatment Program can help you quit using tobacco products.
Our team will meet with you and make a plan just for you. Your plan may recommend using medicine. Our experts will suggest safe, proven strategies to help you stop using tobacco for good.
Quitting tobacco is important for your overall health. This is true even if you already have lung cancer. Quitting can:
- Lower your risk of problems during lung surgery.
- Improve your recovery time after lung surgery.
- Improve how well some treatments work.
- Lower your risk of lung cancer coming back.
MSK was the first U.S. cancer center to start an integrative medicine program. Our experts use therapies like meditation, exercise, and acupuncture to reduce side effects. They’re safe and can help people with cancer.
How we support you after treatment
MSK experts in rehabilitation and physical therapy can help you get your strength back.
What support services does MSK offer after your treatment ends?
At MSK, our cancer experts are here to help you live a full and healthy life after cancer treatment. We focus on all aspects of your life, such as nutrition, emotional support, and dealing with side effects of treatment.
We will help you and your loved ones get the resources and care you need as you adjust to this new phase.
Research shows exercise can help with recovery from cancer and lower the long-term effects of some treatments. Exercise can also improve your breathing and lung function after surgery.
MSK is a leader in research on the benefits of staying active during and after cancer. Our exercise specialists will make a plan just for your needs.
Our rehabilitation experts can help you feel better as you get back to your life after treatment.
Supportive care is an important part of how we improve your quality of life during and after treatment. These therapies can help with side effects that happen months or years later.
Supportive care can also improve your emotional and spiritual health. MSK’s supportive care experts work with all members of your care team. They make a personal plan for you based on your goals and values. Supportive care can help you with:
- Pain
- Fatigue
- Insomnia (trouble falling and staying asleep)
- Nausea (feeling like throwing up)
- Anxiety
We’re experts in managing the side effects of treatment for lung cancer.
Pain management is an important part of cancer care. MSK was the first cancer center in the country to have a service just for treating pain in people with cancer.
Our pain experts will help relieve or manage pain after surgery. They can help while you’re still in the hospital, and after you are home.
We also have a team of experts who manage the symptoms and side effects of cancer treatment.
Lung cancer treatment can affect your digestion (how your body breaks food). It can change your taste, how you can eat, and how hungry you are.
Our clinical dietitian nutritionists can answer your questions about what you can and should eat. They can help with:
- Planning healthy meals at home.
- Advice about special diets.
- Working around food allergies.
- Managing symptoms such as weight loss or gain, and loss of appetite.
- Lowering your risk for other health problems after treatment.
Our Integrative Medicine Service offers complementary, natural, and holistic treatments. They include acupuncture, meditation, massage therapy, yoga, and exercise.
Cancer therapies can cause side effects. You may want support to cope with chronic pain, fatigue, nerve problems, nausea, insomnia, and stress.
Without using prescription drugs, integrative therapies can help improve and control these lasting side effects.
Integrative medicine services are available in New York City, New Jersey, Westchester, and on Long Island. We also offer virtual classes and workshops.
Innovations at MSK
We’re always looking at new ways to improve life after cancer treatment. Explore the latest lung cancer news from MSK.
Nurse practitioner Amy Devigne provides lung cancer survivors with follow-up care.