Long-term survival rates after a diagnosis of breast cancer are steadily rising with an improvement in the 5-year survival rate to 87%. However, there has been little education for practitioners to enable and support the provision of this care. This is important because there has been a progressive shift in the care of stable breast cancer survivors to the domain of primary care.

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Breast cancer survivors experience many medical and psychosocial complications that continue after the completion of treatment.  For example, one-third of breast cancer survivors report depressive symptoms and fears around recurrence that create considerable distress and anxiety. Therefore, family physicians should be prepared to address these challenging issues that survivors and their families may experience.

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As physicians who treat cancer, we should do a better job to provide high-quality survivorship care.

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The evidence-based recommendations outlined below outline the standard follow-up procedures for breast cancer surveillance, and are intended to assist you in providing optimal breast cancer follow-up care for your patient. These recommendations are not intended to be a substitute for clinical judgment.

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