The honest truth?  You can't.  Like everything else in life, cancer is a lottery.  I have known folks who didn't drink or smoke, who exercised regularly and who ate healthy food......and they still got cancer.  Likewise, I have known folks who abused their bodies with booze, ciggies, drugs, late night partying etc, and they lived to a ripe old age.  By all means, take good care of yourself, but unfortunately, there is no guarantee for anyone that cancer will never return.  The best that any of us can do is to make the most of however long we have left to live, because no-one is guaranteed tomorrow.  

Hello Posders and thank you for your posting,

Not knowing whether or not the cancer will return can be difficult bringing a lot of uncertainty, and a feeling of not being in control. However, there are some things that you can do to keep yourself as well as possible, such as having a healthy balanced diet, exercising, attending any follow-up appointments and check ups and reporting any new symptoms to your hospital team or GP all of which help to keep an eye on things.

We have a new section on our website about life beyond cancer , and Macmillan Cancer Support has information about life after treatment, which you may find useful.

I hope this and the links above help in some way. If you would like to talk things through with one of our nurses on the helpline, we are available Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm and the freephone number to call is 0808 800 4040.

Take care,

Jemma