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The aim of any anticancer treatment is to cure the patient.

However, most treatment modalities involve more or less important side effects (called iatrogenic), which could lead to deteriorated quality of life, either during treatment itself or possibly lasting a long time afterwards, known as sequelae.

We now have tools for the study of quality of life.

Once cure is obtained, many problems still remain and many health professionals such as social workers, sex therapists, stomatherapists, speech therapists… will be needed to restore the patient’s comfort.

This is briefly explained in the linked page on Rehabilitation.

Finally, many other problems arise in the patient's daily life, and the excellent health and social protection available in many western countries can help as long as the patient is aware of possibilities. The problems caused by work stoppage, invalidity, late social sequelae, such as difficulties in taking out a life insurance policy, can be solved with the help of social workers. If they are specialised for helping cancer patients, they are generally more efficient.

For the French speaking reader, a Guide for Reinsertio(Guide de réinsertion des malades) has been published by the French Federation of Cancer Centres.