I can't agree more with Gary that even though a recurrence may be a play of luck, I do think that there is something we can do trying to keep the disease away. In my first two years post treatment, the oncologist constantly reminded me that I had a high chance of the disease returning ( 50%) due to my advanced stage. He said what he could do was to monitor me closely together with frequent tests and scanning. I did my part by changing my lifestyle and eating habit. I started excercising regularly, eating more nutritious food by following the principle of more veggies ( especially mushrooms and tomatoes) and less meat. I read a lot of books about eating healthy and note down names of food that may help prevent cancer.I avoid all kinds of deep fried, barbecued, high sugar food. I stick to food with low fat, low sugar and low salt. As stress can be harmful to our body, I keep on reminding myself to relax when coping with adversity. I try to analyse all the visible factors that led to my getting cancer and learn to guard against them. I have been very cautious for the past five years but learn not to over worry about something that is beyond my control.
I believe that a positive attitude can be helpful in recurrence prevention.

Karen