Many survivors report being surprised by how they feel when they are told they are cancer free. Instead of joy and relief, many feel fear and begin to panic. Karen van Gorp experienced this firsthand, when she got the all clear following a diagnosis and treatment of stage four melanoma. She was told that the cancer experience often results in a post-traumatic stress disorder responses.

Though van Gorp has returned to work, she still has challenges feeling that things are 'back to normal'. Donna Milne, a nurse from the Peter Mac Callum Cancer Center in Melbourne, states that though many patients experience anxiety about their cancer returning, many are struggling with the financial impact of cancer. Whether it was due to going into debt due to the cost of treatment, or spending their life savings with the belief they wouldn't be surviving, many find themselves in a frightening financial circumstance following cancer. Nurses explain that it's time to change the way survivors are supported once treatment ends.

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