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When Do You Stop Cancer Maintenance Treatment?

Five-year rare-cancer survivor discussing how long to continue exemestane and lorlatinib maintenance treatment with her medical team.
After five years, survivorship means balancing cancer care with living well.

When to Stop Cancer Maintenance Treatment: The Question My Doctors and I Must Keep Asking

When people ask when to stop cancer maintenance treatment, they may imagine a temporary treatment with a clear ending date.


Take the medicine for a certain number of months.


Complete the treatment.


Ring another bell.


Move on with life.


That is not how my treatment has worked.


I have survived Stage IV uterine leiomyosarcoma for five years. Tumor testing showed that my cancer was estrogen receptor positive, progesterone receptor positive, and ALK positive. Those findings helped my doctors and me build an individualized plan using two different cancer medicines.


I take exemestane to lower estrogen signaling related to the ER- and PR-positive part of my original tumor.


I also take lorlatinib to address the ALK-positive finding.


Neither medicine was a simple or routine answer for my rare cancer. They were choices my doctors and I made using the information available about my tumor, my recurrence, my treatment history, and my determination to make it as difficult as possible for the cancer to grow again.


Now we face a question without an easy answer:


"When do I stop taking the medicines that may be helping me survive but are also causing continuing harm to my body?"


Maintenance Treatment Does Not Always Have a Clear Ending

The National Cancer Institute defines maintenance therapy as treatment given to help keep cancer from returning after it has disappeared following initial treatment. It may involve medicines, vaccines, or antibodies, and it may continue for a long time.


The phrase **for a long time** leaves a great deal unanswered.


How long is long?


One year?


Five years?


Until the medicine stops working?


Until the side effects become too serious?


Until better evidence becomes available?


For some cancers and medicines, research provides a recommended treatment period. For example, the official exemestane prescribing information describes particular breast-cancer treatment schedules that complete a total of five years of hormonal therapy. Those schedules were studied for specific types of breast cancer, not for my uterine leiomyosarcoma.


My situation does not fit neatly into that standard treatment box.


My Treatment Is Individualized

Exemestane is officially approved for particular hormone-responsive breast cancers.


Lorlatinib, sold under the brand name Lorbrena, is officially approved for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors are ALK positive.


My cancer is uterine leiomyosarcoma.


Using these medicines for my rare cancer required an individualized decision. My doctors considered the biological markers found in my tumor, my treatment history, the available medical information, the risks of recurrence, and what I was willing to tolerate.


That also means we do not have a large group of patients exactly like me who can tell us with certainty what happens if I stop after five years.


I often feel like a walking experiment.


That does not mean my doctors are treating me carelessly.


It means rare cancer sometimes requires careful decisions in areas where the research has not yet provided a perfect roadmap.


Tumor Testing Gave Us Two Pieces of the Puzzle

My original tumor tested ER positive, PR positive, and ALK positive.


The ER and PR findings suggested that hormones could be involved in the signals used by my cancer cells. That led us to use an aromatase inhibitor to lower estrogen.


I began with letrozole and later changed to exemestane because of the severe muscle and joint effects I experienced.


But I kept thinking about the ALK finding.


In my mind, we were treating one part of the puzzle while leaving another known part alone.


Cancer cells develop through complicated biological changes. I did not believe one marker alone explained everything about my cancer. I also did not want to give a known abnormal pathway a comfortable opportunity to keep functioning if there was a medically reasonable way to address it.


I wanted to make the cancer’s path as difficult as possible.


Then My Cancer Returned in My Bones

My cancer later returned in my bones, including my spine.


We will discuss that recurrence in greater detail in another part of my cancer story. What matters here is that the location limited our ability to obtain enough safe, useful tissue for complete new tumor testing.


We could not fully determine whether the recurrent cancer had the same balance of ER, PR, and ALK findings as the original tumor.


That left us with uncertainty.


We knew the biology of the original cancer.


We knew the cancer had returned.


We knew I was already treating the hormone-receptor finding.


We did not have a perfect new biopsy that could answer every question about what was driving the recurrence.


In that uncertainty, I advocated for treating the known ALK finding too.


I Brought the Research to My Doctor

I found a professional cancer treatment reference that discussed using lorlatinib in connection with ALK-positive disease.


I brought the information to my cancer doctor.


I did not walk into the office and tell him I knew more than he did.


I showed him what I had found and asked him to consider the science.


I explained my reasoning.


My original tumor was ER positive, PR positive, and ALK positive. If we were treating only the hormone-related part, I wanted to know whether we were leaving another known abnormal pathway unaddressed.


My doctor reviewed the information.


We discussed the possible benefits and risks.


Eventually, the prescription was submitted through the VA, and I went through another process of explaining, documenting, and advocating before lorlatinib became part of my treatment.


Lorlatinib Does Not Come With a Stopping Date for My Cancer

For its approved use in ALK-positive metastatic lung cancer, the current FDA prescribing information directs lorlatinib to be taken until the cancer progresses or the toxicity becomes unacceptable.


That does not automatically tell us how long I should take it.


I do not have lung cancer.


My use is individualized.


The label gives doctors important information about the medicine, but it does not provide a researched stopping rule for an ALK-positive uterine leiomyosarcoma survivor who is also taking exemestane.


That is the gap my care team and I must live inside.


I Have Made It Five Years

Five years means something to me.


When I first researched my rare cancer, the statistics frightened me.


I met women who died much sooner.


I did not know whether I would reach one year, much less five.


Now I am here.


The medicines may be part of why.


Surgery may be part of why.


Chemotherapy, radiation, careful surveillance, quick action during recurrence, my medical teams, and other parts of my care may all be part of why.


No one can isolate one factor and prove exactly why I am alive.


That uncertainty makes stopping more difficult.


What if the medicines are holding something back?


What if I stop and the cancer returns?


What if I continue and the long-term effects create serious health problems of their own?


Those are not questions with emotionally easy answers.


Staying on Treatment Has a Cost

Maintenance treatment sounds gentle.


My experience has not been gentle.


Exemestane has contributed to severe joint and muscle stiffness in my daily life. Sitting through an eight-hour workday can leave me feeling as stiff as cardboard when I stand. I may need my cane or the wall until my body begins moving again.


Because estrogen-lowering treatment can affect bone density, my medical team obtained a baseline bone-density test and continues monitoring my bones. I also take calcium and vitamin D as directed and use other measures discussed with my healthcare professionals.


Lorlatinib brought another group of problems.


After beginning it, I experienced serious mental effects at the original 100-milligram dose. My doctors and I later agreed to reduce it to 50 milligrams.


My blood sugar rose dramatically after I began treatment. From my perspective, it felt as though I became diabetic overnight. I now require continuing diabetes care and medication adjustments.


My cholesterol also increased.


I developed severe neuropathy in my hands and sometimes in my feet. At its worst, the foot pain can feel like stepping on glass.


I take other medicines and supplements under professional guidance to help manage what the cancer medicines do to my body.


One treatment decision created many additional healthcare decisions.


Reducing a Dose Can Be Part of Continuing Treatment

I began lorlatinib at 100 milligrams daily.


The mental side effects became extremely difficult.


I talked with my doctors and asked whether we could reduce the dose.


We ultimately moved to 50 milligrams.


The current FDA label for the approved lung-cancer use identifies 75 milligrams as the first dose reduction and 50 milligrams as the second. It also provides guidance for holding, reducing, or permanently discontinuing treatment because of particular adverse reactions.


That does not mean every patient should follow my path or request the same dose.


It shows why side effects need to be reported.


Sometimes the only choices are not simply “take it” or “stop it.”


Depending on the medicine, symptoms, cancer, and medical judgment, the team may consider:


  • Additional monitoring

  • Supportive medication

  • A temporary interruption

  • A dose reduction

  • A different treatment

  • Permanent discontinuation

  • Continuing while treating manageable effects


Those decisions belong with the prescribing team.


The Goal Is Not to Take the Highest Dose at Any Cost

I wanted to fight the cancer strongly.


At the beginning, I wanted the standard 100-milligram lorlatinib dose to hit the ALK-related pathway as hard as possible.


But a medicine cannot help me if its effects become impossible or unsafe to live with.


Treatment must consider more than the amount of drug in the tablet.


It must consider:


  • Whether the cancer is controlled

  • Whether the medicine is causing serious harm

  • Whether a lower dose remains medically reasonable

  • Whether the patient can function

  • Whether side effects can be treated

  • Whether another option exists

  • What the patient values

  • What is known and unknown about long-term use


Reducing my dose was not giving up.


It was an attempt to make continued treatment possible.


The Side Effects of Two Medicines Do Not Stay in Separate Boxes

The manufacturer of exemestane explains the effects known from exemestane.


The manufacturer of lorlatinib explains the effects known from lorlatinib.


My body does not experience them as two separate information sheets.


I take both medicines.


I live with the whole result.


Some effects may come mostly from one drug.


Some may be affected by the other medicine, another health condition, my previous cancer treatments, or the interaction of several problems.


The combined daily experience is difficult to measure because my treatment plan is not commonly used for uterine leiomyosarcoma.


We must be cautious not to claim that the combination scientifically causes an effect unless my medical team or reliable evidence establishes it.


But we also cannot ignore what is happening to me simply because it is not described perfectly in a standard guide.


My symptoms are medical information too.


The Medicines Created More Medicines

Long-term cancer treatment often becomes a chain.


One medicine is used to address the cancer.


Another medicine is added to control cholesterol.


Several medicines may be tried to control blood sugar.


Supplements may be considered for bone health or neuropathy.


Pain, sleep, migraines, stiffness, and other problems may require additional treatment.


Each new medicine brings its own questions:


  • Does it interact with lorlatinib?

  • Does it affect the liver or kidneys?

  • Does it change blood sugar?

  • Does it worsen fatigue?

  • Does it interfere with another prescription?

  • When should it be taken?

  • What laboratory work is needed?


This is why every doctor and pharmacist needs a complete and current list of my prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements.


My Care Requires a Team

I am fortunate to have a good care team.


The VA helps manage parts of my continuing healthcare, prescriptions, monitoring, and the medical problems that have developed during treatment.


I have a cancer doctor focused on the cancer itself.


I also have another cancer doctor whose role includes helping keep the symptoms and treatment effects under control so I can remain as healthy and functional as possible.


Other doctors are involved in bloodwork, port care, diabetes, cholesterol, bone health, neuropathy, and the different systems affected over time.


No one doctor can look at only one laboratory number and decide the entire future of my treatment.


The decision to continue or stop must consider the whole person.


Cancer Control Is Only One Part of the Decision

The obvious question is:


“Is the medicine controlling the cancer?”


That is essential.


It is not the only question.


My care team must also ask:


  • What is happening to my blood sugar?

  • Can the diabetes be controlled?

  • What is happening to my cholesterol and triglycerides?

  • Is the neuropathy stable or worsening?

  • How are the medicines affecting my thinking and mood?

  • Is my bone density declining?

  • Can I still walk safely?

  • Am I falling?

  • Can I work?

  • Can I sleep?

  • Can I complete daily activities?

  • Are my liver, kidneys, and heart tolerating treatment?

  • Is the current dose still reasonable?

  • * What might happen if we stop?

  • * What might happen if we continue?


A scan cannot answer all of those questions.


Quality of Life Does Not Mean Giving Up on Life

Patients sometimes fear that discussing quality of life will sound as though they are unwilling to fight.


Quality of life is not the opposite of survival.


It is part of survival.


A medicine might reduce the risk of cancer growth while making walking, thinking, sleeping, or working more difficult.


That does not automatically mean the medicine should be stopped.


It means the burden must be discussed honestly.


I want to remain alive.


I also want to be able to live inside the life I am protecting.


There May Never Be a Perfectly Safe Time to Stop

One of the hardest truths is that no date may arrive when everyone can say:


“Now we know stopping is completely safe.”


The cancer could remain away after treatment ends.


It could return.


The medicine could be helping.


It could be adding less benefit than we hope.


Continuing could cause additional health damage.


Stopping could reduce side effects but increase uncertainty.


With rare cancer and an uncommon treatment plan, some of those answers may never be known with certainty.


The choice must be made using the best available evidence, careful monitoring, medical experience, and my values.


Surviving Longer Creates New Questions

At diagnosis, the question was:


“How do we keep me alive?”


After surgery and chemotherapy, it became:


“How do we reduce the chance of recurrence?”


After my cancer returned, it became:


“How do we treat what came back and use what we know about its biology?”


Now that I have survived five years, another question is growing louder:


“How long should I keep taking medicines that may be helping me survive but are also creating chronic illness?”


Surviving long enough to face that question is a blessing.


It is also a burden.


Long-Term Treatment Requires Long-Term Monitoring

Follow-up care is based on the cancer, treatments received, overall health, and possible treatment-related problems. The National Cancer Institute emphasizes that follow-up schedules differ between survivors and that long-term care may include monitoring for recurrence as well as managing late effects.


My monitoring may include:


  • Cancer imaging

  • Blood counts

  • Liver and kidney tests

  • Blood sugar

  • A1C

  • Cholesterol and triglycerides

  • Bone-density testing

  • Heart monitoring

  • Neurological symptoms

  • Mood and thinking changes

  • Blood pressure

  • Medication interactions

  • Pain and mobility

  • Port care

  • Signs of recurrence


The monitoring is not separate from treatment.


It is what makes continued treatment safer.


A Stable Scan Does Not End the Conversation

A scan showing no evidence of disease is wonderful.


It does not automatically answer whether the medicines should continue.


A stable scan may mean:


  • The medicines are helping

  • Earlier treatments were successful

  • The disease is naturally quiet at that moment

  • Several factors are working together

  • The available imaging cannot detect microscopic disease


We cannot look inside my body and run a second version of my life without the medicines.


There is no way to compare the two paths directly.


That uncertainty is why the conversation must be revisited rather than answered once and forgotten.


We Need Scheduled Treatment Reviews

Long-term medicine can become routine.


A prescription is renewed.


The bottle is refilled.


Another year passes.


I do not want my treatment to continue only because everyone has become accustomed to it.


I want regular conversations that ask:


  • What benefit do we believe I am receiving?

  • What evidence supports continuing?

  • Has new research become available?

  • Have my risks changed?

  • Have the side effects worsened?

  • Could the dose change?

  • Is there another medicine?

  • What would monitoring look like if we stopped?

  • What findings would make us restart or change treatment?

  • Who is responsible for coordinating the decision?


“Keep taking it” should remain an active medical decision, not an automatic habit.


Questions I Need to Ask My Doctors

About Continuing


  • What do we believe each medicine is doing now?

  • Is there evidence supporting long-term use in a cancer like mine?

  • Are we treating active disease, preventing recurrence, or both?

  • Does reaching five years change the expected benefit?

  • Is the current dose the lowest reasonable effective dose?

  • What would make you recommend continuing indefinitely?


About Stopping


  • What are the possible risks if I stop exemestane?

  • What are the possible risks if I stop lorlatinib?

  • Should the medicines ever be stopped one at a time?

  • Would treatment be tapered, held, or stopped immediately?

  • What monitoring would increase after stopping?

  • Could the medicine be restarted if something changed?

  • Is there a point when long-term harm outweighs the possible benefit?


About Side Effects


  • Which problems are most likely related to each medicine?

  • Which effects may become permanent?

  • Can the diabetes improve if lorlatinib is stopped?

  • Can the neuropathy improve?

  • How are my bones changing?

  • Are my mental symptoms stable at the lower dose?

  • Are the medications used to control side effects creating other risks?

  • Would a specialist in survivorship or medication toxicity help?


About the Unknowns


  • What do we not know about my treatment combination?

  • Are there published cases similar to mine?

  • Can my experience be documented for research?

  • Would a molecular tumor board review my case?

  • Has the interpretation of my ALK finding changed?

  • Would another biopsy or updated tumor testing ever be useful and safe?


I Need Doctors Who Can Disagree Respectfully

When several doctors are involved, they may not always agree.


One doctor may focus most heavily on recurrence risk.


Another may be more concerned about diabetes, neuropathy, mental effects, or bone loss.


Another may look at quality of life.


Those viewpoints do not automatically mean one doctor cares more than another.


They are looking at different parts of the same person.


I need them to communicate.


I should not be left to carry conflicting recommendations between offices without help resolving them.


One Doctor Must Help Coordinate the Whole Plan

Specialists are important.


Coordination is just as important.


Someone must understand:


  • Why I take each cancer medicine

  • Who prescribed it

  • What dose I take

  • Which side effects are being monitored

  • Which doctor manages each new condition

  • What laboratory work is needed

  • Which medicines interact

  • Who makes the final decision about continuing treatment

  • What happens during an emergency


Without coordination, each doctor may treat one problem while missing the complete burden.


A Treatment Pause Is Not the Same as Quitting

Depending on the medicine and medical situation, a doctor may sometimes use a temporary treatment hold to see whether a serious symptom improves.


That is not something a patient should do alone.


For certain adverse reactions in its approved setting, the lorlatinib prescribing information directs clinicians to hold the medicine, wait for improvement, and then resume it at the same or a reduced dose. Some severe reactions require permanent discontinuation.


A medically directed pause can provide information.


Did the mental symptoms improve?


Did the pain change?


Did blood sugar become easier to manage?


Could treatment resume at another dose?


The answers may help the team understand the balance between benefit and harm.


Stopping Treatment Would Not Mean I Stopped Fighting

This matters to me.


If my doctors and I eventually decide that a medicine should stop, it will not mean I gave up.


It will not mean I became less brave.


It will not erase the years I took the medicine.


It will mean we reviewed the evidence, the side effects, my health, and my goals and made the best decision we could at that time.


Continuing treatment can be courageous.


Reducing treatment can be wise.


Stopping treatment can sometimes be medically necessary.


None of those choices should be used to judge a patient’s strength.


Continuing Is Also a Choice I Must Be Allowed to Make

The opposite is equally important.


Some people may look at my side effects and ask why I continue.


They may say they would never take a medicine that contributed to diabetes, neuropathy, pain, stiffness, high cholesterol, or mental changes.


They do not live inside my risk.


They did not hear my Stage IV diagnosis.


They did not experience my recurrence.


They did not lose women with the same rare cancer.


They do not carry my fear that stopping may remove something that is helping hold the cancer back.


My decision to continue also deserves respect.


My Five-Year Milestone Does Not End Medical Uncertainty

Five years is often treated as a finish line.


For me, it is a milestone, not a guarantee.


I celebrate it.


I also know that rare cancer does not always follow a simple timetable.


My doctors continue watching me.


I continue taking medication.


I continue treating the effects of that medication.


I continue asking whether the current plan still makes sense.


The questions did not disappear when I reached five years.


In some ways, they became more complicated.


## What Loved Ones Should Understand


When someone takes long-term cancer medication, loved ones may believe that swallowing the pills is the easy part.


They may not see:


  • The laboratory appointments

  • Medication changes

  • Insurance approvals

  • Specialist visits

  • Fear before scans

  • Bone-density testing

  • Diabetes care

  • Neuropathy

  • Pain

  • Mental effects

  • Questions about stopping

  • Fear of recurrence

  • The weight of making an uncertain choice


Helpful support sounds like:


  • “What are your doctors considering?”

  • “Do you want someone to attend the appointment?”

  • “Would it help to write down the questions?”

  • “I respect that this is your decision.”


Unhelpful support sounds like:


  • “Just stop taking it.”

  • “You have been cancer free long enough.”

  • “The medicine is poisoning you.”

  • “You have to keep taking it no matter what.”


The decision is more complicated than either extreme.


What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

I wish someone had told me that maintenance treatment might not come with a clear completion date.


I wish I had known that surviving longer could create harder treatment questions rather than making every decision easier.


I wish someone had explained that a lower dose could sometimes allow treatment to continue.


I wish patients taking unusual combinations were given more help coordinating all their doctors.


I wish there were more research about people with rare cancers who survive for years on individualized targeted treatment.


I wish someone had warned me that managing the side effects could require nearly as much medical care as monitoring the cancer.


Most of all, I wish someone had said:


“The decision to continue treatment must be reviewed again and again. You are allowed to ask what the medicine is still doing, what it is costing your body, and whether the balance remains right for you.”


Hope for Today

I have made it five years.


There was a time when I did not know whether I would make it through the year.


Now I am asking how long I should continue taking two cancer medicines.


That is a problem I am grateful to be alive to face.


It is still a real problem.


Exemestane helps address the hormone-receptor part of my original tumor biology.


Lorlatinib helps address the ALK-positive finding.


Together, they represent my decision to make my body a difficult place for the cancer to grow.


They also make parts of my body a difficult place for me to live.


I deal with stiffness.


I deal with pain.


I monitor my bones.


I manage diabetes.


I take medicine for cholesterol.


I live with neuropathy.


I monitor my thinking and mental health.


I see several doctors.


I complete bloodwork.


I ask questions.


I adjust doses with my team.


I am not following a well-worn treatment road.


My care is individualized because my cancer is rare and my tumor gave us unusual pieces of information.


That means my doctors cannot hand me a calendar with one final treatment date circled.


We must keep deciding.


We must ask whether the medicines are still medically reasonable.


We must ask whether the side effects can be controlled.


We must ask what stopping might risk.


We must ask what continuing might cost.


We must look at the cancer and the whole person carrying it.


I do not know today exactly when I will stop maintenance treatment.


What I do know is that I will not make that decision alone.


I have a cancer doctor focused on controlling the disease.


I have another cancer doctor helping manage the symptoms and keep me healthy enough to continue.


I have the VA helping with treatment, prescriptions, and long-term care.


I have professionals who monitor different parts of my body.


Most importantly, I have learned to speak honestly with them.


The question is not simply:


“How long can I endure these medicines?”


The better question is:


“How do we protect my life while also protecting the person who must live it?”


Frequently Asked Questions

What is cancer maintenance therapy?

Maintenance therapy is treatment given after initial treatment to help keep cancer from returning or progressing. It may continue for a long period, depending on the cancer, medicine, evidence, response, and side effects.


Is there one standard length for maintenance treatment?

No. Some medicines have a set research-based duration. Others are continued until progression, unacceptable toxicity, or another medical reason to change. The schedule depends on the specific cancer and treatment.


How long is lorlatinib normally taken?

For its FDA-approved use in ALK-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, the prescribing information says it is continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. That rule does not automatically determine treatment length for an off-label use in another cancer.


Is lorlatinib approved for uterine leiomyosarcoma?

No. Its FDA-approved indication is ALK-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Use for uterine leiomyosarcoma is an individualized, off-label decision.


Is exemestane approved for uterine leiomyosarcoma?

No. Its FDA-approved indications involve certain hormone-responsive breast cancers. Use for ER- and PR-positive uterine leiomyosarcoma is individualized and off label.


Does taking a lower lorlatinib dose mean treatment has failed?

Not necessarily. The FDA label includes dose reductions to 75 milligrams and 50 milligrams for adverse reactions in its approved use. Dose decisions must be made by the prescribing clinician.


Should a patient stop a cancer medicine because of side effects?

Patients should not stop or change cancer medication on their own. New, worsening, or disabling effects should be reported promptly so the team can evaluate their cause and consider supportive care, testing, a hold, dose adjustment, switching, or discontinuation.


What should be considered before stopping maintenance therapy?

The care team may consider cancer status, recurrence risk, evidence of benefit, time on treatment, side effects, organ function, quality of life, other treatment choices, monitoring options, and the patient’s values.


Can a medicine be restarted after stopping?

Sometimes, but not always. It depends on why it was stopped, how long it was held, the cancer’s behavior, the side effect, and the medicine. This needs to be discussed before treatment is changed.


Why is a coordinated care team important?

Long-term cancer medicine can affect several parts of the body. Coordination helps doctors monitor interactions, side effects, laboratory results, cancer status, and the total burden of treatment rather than treating each issue separately.



Support on Your Journey

Long-term cancer treatment can leave people caught between two fears.


One fear is that continuing the medicine may cause more damage.


The other is that stopping may allow the cancer to return.


Surviving Life Lessons Community Groups are being formed so patients, survivors, and caregivers can talk honestly about these difficult decisions without being told what choice they must make.



Find Your Community

No one should have to face life's challenges alone. At Surviving Life Lessons, we believe in life survivors helping life strugglers. Explore our growing Community Groups to connect with others who understand your journey, share encouragement, and find hope through meaningful conversations. You'll also have the opportunity to introduce yourself and share your own story of overcoming. Your story matters. It may be the encouragement someone else needs to keep moving forward, reminding them that they are not alone and that hope is always possible.



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References

**National Cancer Institute. “Definition of Maintenance Therapy.” NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.**

**National Cancer Institute. “Follow-Up Medical Care.”**

**National Cancer Institute. “Late Effects of Cancer Treatment.”**

**National Cancer Institute. “Biomarker Testing for Cancer Treatment.”**

**National Cancer Institute. “Off-Label Drug Use in Cancer Treatment.”**

**U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “LORBRENA® (Lorlatinib) Prescribing Information.”**

**Pfizer. “LORBRENA® (Lorlatinib) Full Prescribing Information.”**

**Pfizer. “AROMASIN® (Exemestane) Full Prescribing Information.”**



About the Author:

Deborah Ann Martin is the founder of Surviving Life Lessons, a published author, poet, speaker, and trainer with over 20 years of management experience across multiple industries. An MBA graduate, U.S. veteran, single mother, and rare cancer survivor, Deborah brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her writing on resilience, leadership, personal growth, and overcoming adversity. Her mission is to empower others with practical wisdom and real-life insight to navigate life’s challenges with strength and purpose.

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