Ideally, you will have had the opportunity to discuss all the possible long-term effects of your past treatment (for example, severe tiredness), as well as the immediate side effects, with your hospital doctor or nurse. Unfortunately, however, this conversation does not always take place, or you may have found this extra information too much to take in on top of all the other things which were happening at that time.

Some people find that there are very few physical effects of their cancer, but others may have had part of their body removed (a mastectomy or amputation, for example) to get rid of the cancer. This may make it very difficult to adjust to everyday life after your treatment. If you have had an operation to remove part of your digestive system (such as the bowel) you may need to get used to a whole new way of eating, as well as coping with new ways of getting rid of waste from the body. If you have had a new opening (stoma) made in the body, such as a tracheostomy in your throat, or a colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy on your abdomen, this can impact on all aspects of your life.

Many support organisations exist to help people with disabilities caused by cancer. There are also organisations that provide help and support to people who have had amputations or stomas.

After cancer treatment, particularly radiotherapy or chemotherapy, most people find that they feel tired for months, or even years. This can be worrying, as you may wonder if it is a sign that the cancer has come back. It is quite normal to feel tired for a very long time after treatment for cancer.

Even if you don’t actually feel tired you will probably find that you have less energy - that doing things you could do quite easily before your treatment leaves you feeling worn out and drained. This lack of energy can take many months to disappear. As these feelings of tiredness or loss of energy are not actually dangerous or painful side effects of treatment they are often not mentioned very much by nurses and doctors; however, they can be very frustrating when you want to get back to a normal life again but find that you feel too tired or don’t have enough energy.

Cancerbackup's section on fatigue has tips on dealing with tiredness.

Cancer, or its treatment, can sometimes cause swelling of a part of the body. This is known as lymphoedema. Our section on lymphoedema has tips on coping with lymphoedema and ways of reducing the risk of developing it.