After being diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago Sandra Calleja mustered up every ounce of courage she had and underwent surgery followed by much-dreaded chemotherapy.

Now that the treatment is over she sometimes catches herself wondering if the cancer will return.

“This fear can take over when you hear of another patient who got it again. It affects you. But you have to fight to remain positive. If it does come back, I will fight it again,” the 41-year-old said in a determined tone.

These thoughts and fears are very common among cancer survivors who, after having made it through one of the toughest challenges in their lives, often need support getting back into their pre-cancer lifestyle.

For this reason a new Cancer Care Pathways Directorate was set up to understand what survivors need, among various things.

With survival rates increasing – also through screening that was leading to early detection – the need for such services was becoming more evident.

Malta sees 2,000 new cancer cases per year, explained Danika Marmara who heads the directorate. She explained that the directorate was reviewing the systems in place to ensure that all people diagnosed navigated seamlessly through it.