Follow up for nasopharyngeal cancer

After treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer, you have regular check ups. You might also have tests during your appointments. These may include a nasendoscopy and blood tests. Over time, these appointments become less frequent.

Why you have follow up appointments

Follow up appointments are to check:

• your recovery after treatment and if you have any side effects

• whether the cancer has come back

• if you have any questions or worries

How often are my check ups?

Generally, people with head and neck cancers are followed up for a minimum of 5 years. This may depend on your type of cancer and how your recovery is going. Some people may have follow up appointments for longer.

Below is a general guide and your check ups might be more or less often.

You might have appointments:

• every 2 to 3 months during the first 2 years

• every 6 months during the third to fifth year

• yearly after the fifth year (if you continue to have follow up appointments)

What happens during the appointments?

Your doctor or nurse examines you at each appointment. They ask how you are feeling, whether you have had any symptoms or side effects and if you are worried about anything.

You might also have tests at some visits. These could include: 

• a test to look inside your nose and throat (nasendoscopy)
• blood tests
• CT scan
• MRI scan
• PET-CT scan

You might have your first scan about 3 to 6 months after radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy.

You usually have blood tests to check your thyroid hormone levels. This is because some people develop low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism) after having radiotherapy to the neck. This can make you feel tired. 

You might also have blood tests to check whether your treatment has affected your pituitary gland. Your pituitary gland is in your brain and controls many functions of the body by producing chemical messengers (hormones).

Depending on your symptoms your doctor may arrange other tests for you. For example, a hearing test if you are developing hearing problems.

Your nurse or doctor will tell you more about your tests and how often you have them.

Between appointments

Support

Many people find their check ups quite worrying. And having scans after treatment has finished can make some people anxious. You can talk this through with your doctor or specialist nurse. They can:

• help reassure you
• explain how often you'll have follow ups
• explain why you're having follow ups as often as you are

You can also ask to see other members of your healthcare team, such as the speech and language therapist or dietitian.

It may also help to tell someone close to you how you’re feeling. Sharing your worries can mean they don’t seem so overwhelming. Many people also find it helpful to have counselling after cancer treatment.

You can also find people to share experiences with by using our online forum, Cancer Chat.

Cancer Research UK nurses

Giving up smoking

Your doctor will advise you to try to give up smoking, if you still smoke after your treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer.

Giving up smoking can be very difficult, especially if you have smoked for a long time. But it does give you many benefits, which include:

• reducing your risk of getting another head and neck cancer
• reducing your risk of getting a different smoking related cancer
• helping your recovery by preventing some of the side effects

Your doctor or specialist nurse can give you contact details of services that can help you stop smoking.