What does recurrence mean?

It means the cancer has come back after a period when we could not find it. It can come back in the same place, or somewhere else.

A recurrence is not a failure, yours or ours. It also does not mean we start again from nothing. Ask what has changed and what the options are now, because they are often different from the first time.

Written by two physicians. Checked against patient information from the US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.