ASCO: You’re listening to a podcast from Cancer.Net. This cancer information website is produced by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, known as ASCO, the world’s leading professional organization for doctors who care for people with cancer. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Cancer research discussed in this podcast is ongoing, so the data described here may change as research progresses. Greg Guthrie: Hi, everyone. I'm Greg Guthrie, a member of the Cancer.Net content team, and I'll be your host for today's Cancer.Net podcast. Now as a reminder, Cancer.Net is the patient information website of ASCO, the American Society of Clinical Oncology. And today, we're going to be talking about coping with the fear of recurrence, and our guest is Hester Hill Schnipper. Hester is the emeritus manager of oncology social work at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and she now works in private practice. A two-time breast cancer survivor, she's a nationally known speaker, is active in numerous oncology organizations, and has written 2 books about breast cancer. Her daily clinical responsibilities include working with individuals, couples, and families living with cancer, and facilitating support groups. She's also a member of the Cancer.Net editorial board. Thanks for joining us today, Hester. Hester Hill Schnipper: Thanks so much for asking me. It's a pleasure. Greg Guthrie: It's a pleasure having you on with us here. So let's just start off with some basic questions so we're all on the right footing. What is cancer recurrence? Hester Hill Schnipper: Cancer recurrence is a return of a cancer that was previously diagnosed. When all of us initially have a cancer diagnosis, part of the conversation includes what the general statistics, what the odds might be, how much we need to worry about a recurrence. But the truth is nobody ever knows with certainty what is or what is not going to happen, and all of us who have been through a cancer diagnosis and treatment live with some level of concern about the possibility of a recurrence. A recurrence, generally, not just for breast cancer, but generally for cancers is even scarier than the initial diagnosis because the initial diagnosis may well include the probability of treating for cure, whereas a recurrence generally means that the cancer is no longer curable, and the individual can anticipate just being on treatment for the duration of life. Greg Guthrie: So this is a really common occurrence? Hester Hill Schnipper: Well, it's more common than we would like it to be. Certainly, everyone wishes that you get through it the first time and you can truly be done with it. But none of us get a promise about that, and so all of us worry about the possibility of recurrence. Greg Guthrie: And so most people are afraid of cancer recurrence, then this is kind of a frequent emotion? Hester Hill Schnipper: I think so. And a very important thing for everyone to remember is this is a normal worry. I mean, cancer recurrences happen. It's not like being worried about, "Is there somebody hiding in my closet at 1 o'clock in the morning?" I mean, this is a genuine authentic thing to be concerned about. It's not a neurotic worry. It's real. Greg Guthrie: Oh. And so what are some of the ways that this fear of recurrence can show itself? Hester Hill Schnipper: I think people worry about it in a lot of different ways. And certainly, how intense the worry is is related to a number of factors. One has to do with the woman or the individual's actual medical situation. Again, how nobody gets a promise, but you know from the start that some people are m