When the fear doesn’t leave
A free guide for people living with fear and uncertainty after cancer
Treatment is over. From the outside, things may look like they have returned to normal. But something in you has not settled.
Fear after cancer is one of the most common — and least talked-about — parts of the cancer experience. This guide was written for exactly that experience.
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“Does this sound familiar?”
You may recognise some of the following:
- A bodily sensation draws your full attention immediately — and your mind begins searching for what it might mean
- A clear scan brings relief, but only briefly. The worry returns, often with a new question
- You monitor your body more than you want to. You are aware of the monitoring. But you cannot simply stop
- Making plans or feeling genuinely present feels difficult — as if the ground is not yet solid enough
- Scans fill you with dread weeks before they happen
- You know, intellectually, that the fear may not be proportionate to the actual risk. But knowing this does not reduce it
If any of this feels familiar — this guide was written for exactly this experience. What you are experiencing has a name: Fear of Cancer Recurrence. You are not overreacting. You are not failing to move on. You are responding to something real.
What’s inside the guide
The guide is short and practical — written to be read in a single sitting. It moves through four sections:
Recognition
A description of the experience of fear of recurrence — written to help you recognise your own experience in it, and to name what is happening.
A first tool — try this now
Before explaining anything, the guide offers something concrete: a 90-second exercise based on how the fear response actually works. Not a breathing exercise — a precise, brief interruption of the fear spiral before it completes.
Why this is happening
A clear explanation of what fear of recurrence actually is, why it persists after treatment ends, and why the most common strategies for managing it — checking, reassurance-seeking, avoidance — tend to maintain and strengthen it over time.
Two more tools — working with the fear pattern
Two further exercises addressing the most common maintaining mechanisms of fear: body monitoring and the reassurance loop. Practical, brief, and grounded in the same psychological framework as the first tool.
For the harder moments
A three-step structure for when fear arrives sharply — before a scan, in the middle of the night, triggered by a sensation or a piece of news.
What this guide gives you and what it doesn’t
An honest account of what the guide offers and where its limits are — and what a more structured approach to fear of recurrence looks like for those who want to go further.
guide takes around 20–30 minutes to read. No prior knowledge of psychology is needed.
Get the free guide
Enter your name and email address below to receive the guide. You will also receive a short series of emails over the following weeks, offering psychological perspectives on living with fear and uncertainty after cancer.
After that, you will hear from me only occasionally — when new resources become available. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Download the free guide:
About me
I am a Clinical Psychologist with a PhD in Psycho-Oncology and Health Psychology. My research and clinical work has focused specifically on fear of cancer recurrence, and I have developed manual-based FCR treatments at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, in collaboration with international partners.
My approach is evidence-based and grounded in the understanding that fear after cancer is a natural response — not a disorder to be fixed, but an experience to be understood and worked with. I work with cancer survivors and their loved ones, online, from wherever they are in the world. Read more here.
Looking for more support?
The free guide is a starting point. If you are looking for something more structured, there are several ways to work with me.
The Fear That Stays — eBook
A deeper, evidence-based guide to understanding and working with fear of cancer recurrence — with a complete framework and practical tools for everyday life.
Individual online sessions
Personalised one-to-one psychological support, available online from wherever you are. If you have questions or would like to find out more, get in touch.
Online programme — coming soon
A structured online psychological programme for people living with fear of cancer recurrence, grounded in ACT and psycho-oncology research. Signing up for the free guide adds you to the notification list automatically.