Secondary cancer
Ask your doctor, GP or specialist nurse about a referral to the symptom control team. This team of doctors and nurses may also be called the Supportive or Palliative Care Team. They work with you and your doctor to help control your cancer symptoms and improve your physical well-being.
Treatment for secondary cancer usually aims to control the cancer and help with symptoms. You will likely have further questions about:
treatment that is no longer working
the possibility of no further treatment
Common questions include:
How long do I have to live?
How will I die?
Will I have pain?
What will happen to me?
Write your questions down before you talk to your doctor or nurse to help you remember what you want to ask.
The teams caring for you can support you and those close to you when exploring these questions. They can also help you prepare for the future. This is called advance care planning.
Find out more about advance care planning
Coping with the news when cancer has come back or spread and thinking about the future is difficult. Many people worry about:
how they will die
what they can do to manage any symptoms
their friends and family
A great deal of help and support is available to you and your family.
Find out more about dying and cancer
Your family members might each react differently to your situation. Try to respect each person's way of dealing with things, and give each other space to talk. This may mean you want to give your doctor permission to speak with your next of kin or other family members alone.
If you are a relative, you may need to give the person with cancer the opportunity to talk to the doctor on their own.
Dealing with a diagnosis of secondary cancer can affect your mental health. We have more information on how cancer can affect your mental health and where to get support.
Last reviewed: 16 Oct 2026
Next review due: 16 Oct 2029
A primary cancer is where a cancer starts. Sometimes cancer cells can break away from the primary cancer and settle and grow in another part of the body. This new cancer growth is called secondary cancer.
When someone is dying with cancer, they and their carers can get help and support. This information might help at a very emotional and difficult time.
Coping with cancer can be difficult. There is help and support available. Find out about the emotional, physical and practical effects of cancer and how to manage them.
There are organisations, support groups and books to help you cope with symptoms and side effects caused by secondary cancer and its treatment.
We have specific treatment information for each cancer type. Choose the cancer type you want to find out about the treatment from this A-Z list of treatments by cancer type.
