Achieving remission, or the disappearance of all signs of disease, including normalisation of laboratory values (e.g. PSA) and imaging findings at a given time, does not necessarily mean complete cure. Foci may persist in the body which cannot be detected by available diagnostic methods and which may be the source of a new flare-up of the disease, called a relapse. Treatment may therefore continue for some diseases.

Follow-up after the end of cancer treatment, called dispensation, is crucial for the patient's future life. You should therefore keep the check-up dates suggested by your doctor and complete all the recommended examinations.

Follow-ups after the end of cancer treatment, the so-called dispensary, are crucial for the patient's future life. It is an active, regular follow-up aimed at early detection of the return (recurrence) of the disease and early initiation of any treatment. The type and frequency of individual examinations is determined by the patient's attending physician, based on the diagnosis and the patient's individual medical history. After successful cancer treatment, you have two options: either to continue to attend your check-ups at the clinic where you received treatment or to attend your GP.

It is up to you and your GP to decide.

The most important indicator of the persistence or return of cancer is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Therefore, the primary screening method is to monitor PSA levels. Your oncologist or GP will regularly check your PSA and other tests at intervals determined by them.

Ask your doctor what examinations you have to undergo and at what intervals. Find out about any signs of recurrence and diagnostic options. You should know where to go if you experience any problems.

The pattern of outpatient check-ups during dispensary care is set up so that any relapse is diagnosed at the earliest possible stage. Do not hesitate to contact your oncologist or GP if you suspect a recurrence in the interim.

Dispensary care is based on regular examinations, the frequency and type will be determined by the treating physician. As the risk of the disease returning is higher in the first years after successful treatment, these examinations and check-ups become more frequent - up to several times a year. As time goes on, the frequency decreases until eventually the patient is seen once a year.

Trust the established schedule of dispensary examinations and do not request more than recommended. Too many examinations can be as harmful as not attending.

Doctors judge the effectiveness of cancer treatment by, among other things, the length of time surviving without disease or disease progression (tumor regrowth). The longer the period of remission, the more likely it is that the cancer has actually been cured. If there is a 95% probability of a  5-year disease-free period of survival for a particular diagnosis, this means that 95% of patients will still be in remission after this time. Because current therapeutic options for cancer are greatly extending patients' lives, doctors often give a probability rate that a patient will survive 10, 15 or even 20 years.

Unfortunately, there are no specific symptoms of cancer returning. Thus, the most important indicator of the persistence or return of cancer is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The basic screening method is therefore to monitor PSA levels.

Patients are routinely monitored at three, six and twelve months after treatment and then every six months until three years after surgery/radiotherapy and then annually for life. However, the specific monitoring schedule will be determined by your treating physician.

PSA is expected to be undetectable within six weeks after a successful radical prostatectomy. If this has not occurred or if the PSA increases gradually during follow-up, additional radiation to the site after surgery (radiotherapy) or systemic treatment with hormonal agents is most often initiated.

After radiotherapy of prostate cancer, the PSA decrease is gradual and then its dynamics is monitored during regular check-ups.