Physical and emotional concerns

Coping with late and ongoing side effects

Cancer treatments can cause side effects. While some go away shortly after treatment ends, others can continue for a long time. Some may appear months or years later – these are called late effects. Everyone’s experience is different, and side effects may come and go. It can take time to work out what helps and what support you need.

If you live in a rural or regional area, you may have fewer local health professionals to help you manage side effects, so you might have to travel for care. Your GP may be able to help you manage many of these side effects – if not, they can connect you with other health professionals.

Cancer Council has free resources with information on how to manage many side effects from cancer or treatment. Call Cancer Connect on 13 11 20 to order printed copies of our booklets and fact sheets, or you can download them from Cancer Connect. See below for more information on particular side effects.  

This information below lists our resources about particular side effects. You may also find it helpful to visit Coping with late effects and Living well after cancer. 

• Fatigue – feeling very tired, even after rest
• Brain fog – trouble concentrating or remembering things
• Peripheral neuropathy – tingling, numbness or pain in the hands or feet
• Lymphoedema – swelling caused by a build-up of fluid
• Pain – new or ongoing pain
• Eating changes – discomfort eating or drinking; problems with taste and smell
• Mood changes – feeling low, anxious, or not like yourself
• Fertility – issues temporary or permanent infertility (unable to conceive a child)

Impact on sex and intimacy

Some cancer treatments can make it harder to have sex or enjoy it. Many treatments can also lower your interest in being intimate (libido) or change how you feel about your body. These changes can be short term or long lasting, and they can be upsetting or hard to manage.

Some people worry that they will never be able to enjoy sex again, but most people can have a fulfilling sex life after cancer. It’s important to allow yourself time to adapt to any changes.

If you are worried about changes to how you feel about yourself, your relationship or sexual functioning, you may find talking to a psychologist or counsellor helpful. You can also talk to your GP.

For more information, see Sex, intimacy and cancer and listen to Cancer Council's podcast episode Sex and Cancer from our The Thing About Cancer podcast series.

Fear of cancer coming back

It is common to feel anxious or frightened about the cancer coming back (recurrence). Most cancer survivors are likely to experience this fear to some degree, and it may come and go for many years. You can learn ways to manage this fear.

Living in a rural or regional area can make these feelings stronger. You may be far from your specialist and feel like you have fewer people nearby who understand what you’ve been through. You may also worry about having to travel to see doctors for treatment again. 

Once treatment was finished, it was quite daunting. I was fearful that the cancer would come back elsewhere. Eight years later, it hasn’t come back, which is fantastic.

Pete

Finding emotional support

In some rural and regional areas, you won’t have access to face-to-face emotional support. Here are some other options:

• Call Cancer Connect on 13 11 20 to talk to one of our qualified professionals.
• Join the Cancer Council Online Community to connect with other people affected by cancer, including others in rural and regional areas.
• Access telehealth counselling or psychology – ask your GP for a referral to see a counsellor or psychologist by phone or video.
• If you need immediate support at any time of day or night, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000).