Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

After your cancer treatment has ended, you will still need regular appointments with your cancer specialist. This is called follow-up. Your doctor will discuss your follow-up plan with you.

Follow-up may involve having blood tests and possibly scans.

Ask any questions you have and to let your doctor know if you are having any problems. Tell them about any new symptoms, aches or pains you have or if you are finding it hard to cope. It can help to write down what you want to say beforehand, so you don’t forget anything.

Make sure you understand your follow-up plan and have a phone number to contact if you have any queries. 

It’s important to go to your follow-up appointments so your doctor can check for signs of the cancer coming back (recurrence) and help with any side-effects that you may have. 

They can also check for new side-effects that may develop after you have finished treatment. It is best to be aware of these as early as possible so that suitable treatment can be given.

The end of treatment is a time when people often expect to feel relieved, happy and able to get on with life again, but it can take some time to adjust and for your body and mind to recover.

Join our Life and Cancer – Enhancing Survivorship (LACES) programme when you have finished treatment or started maintenance therapy. 

This workshop covers topics such as diet, exercise, wellbeing, finance and self-management and gives information on support and services to help you.

For more information on LACES, call our Support Line on 1800 200 700 or call into your nearest Daffodil Centre.

Sometimes cancer comes back, even after successful treatment. Cancer cells may remain in your body and grow again, although your doctors do all they can to prevent this.

If the lymphoma cells come back after being treated, it’s called recurrence. This can happen during or soon after treatment, or months or years later.

It’s not unusual for low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma to relapse. High-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma can recur too. Lymphoma can still be treated after a recurrence - to try to put it back into remission. Your doctor will discuss your treatment options with you.