People who have been treated for cancer need regular screening tests to check for a second cancer.

It is important for people who have been treated for cancer to be checked for a second cancer before symptoms appear. This is called screening and may help find a second cancer when it is smaller and has not spread. When abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat. By the time symptoms appear, cancer may have begun to spread.

It is important to remember that the doctor does not necessarily think a childhood cancer survivor has cancer if he or she suggests a screening test. Screening tests are given when the cancer survivor has no cancer symptoms. If a screening test result is abnormal, more tests may be done to find out if there is a second cancer. These are called diagnostic tests.