Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Your personal surveillance plan: a layout you can print | CION Cancer Clinics
A personal surveillance plan puts your gene result, every check you need, and when each is next due on one sheet you can print. Your genetic counsellor supplies the schedule. The sheet keeps it in one place for you, your family and every doctor you see. This page gives you the layout, the lines to copy and the habits that stop scans from slipping. At CION Cancer Clinics, our team helps carriers and their families plan checks, next steps and support after a genetic result.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What should a personal surveillance plan include?
- What are the four parts of a good plan?
- How do you build the plan and keep it going?
- The lines to copy onto your sheet
- What makes a plan useful, and what makes it fail
- What this page cannot tell you
- Four things carriers tell us, and what is actually true
- Common questions about a personal surveillance plan
The short answer
What should a personal surveillance plan include?
Your gene result, every check you need, when each one was last done and when the next is due, and who to contact. It should fit on one or two printed sheets. Your genetic counsellor or oncologist gives you the content. The plan simply keeps it in one place you and your family can see.
Why write it down at all
Carriers of some genes need checks on several organs, from different specialists, at different times. Over years, one missed letter or one change of phone is enough for a scan to slip. A single sheet makes gaps easy to spot.
Who fills it in with you
The schedule itself comes from your team, based on your gene, your age and your history. This page gives you the layout. It does not give you intervals, because those differ from gene to gene and person to person.
Where to keep it
Keep a printed copy with your reports, a photo on your phone, and a copy with one trusted relative. Bring it to every appointment, so each doctor sees the whole picture and not just their own organ.
A plan on paper is only as good as its last update. Change it after every result.What goes on the sheet
What are the four parts of a good plan?
Keep them in this order, so anyone picking up the sheet can follow it.
About you and your result
Your name, date of birth and the gene named exactly as it appears on your report. Add the laboratory and the report date, so a new doctor can find the original. Note any past cancer or surgery too, because it changes which checks still apply.
Your checks, organ by organ
One line for each organ being watched. Write the test, how often your team wants it, when it was last done, and when it is next due.
Common lines for some genes
- Breast MRI or mammogram
- Colonoscopy or upper GI scope
- Skin, thyroid or kidney checks
- Whole-body MRI for a few syndromes
Your team
The name of your counsellor and each specialist, and where they see you. Add your scheme or insurance card details, since you will be asked for them at every visit.
Worth writing down
- Who ordered your gene test
- Who to ask when dates clash
- The CION helpline, the only number you need
Signs not to wait on
A short list from your team of symptoms that should bring you in before your next scan. New lumps, bleeding and unexplained weight loss are common examples.
Symptoms always come before the schedule.Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistMaking it work
How do you build the plan and keep it going?
Ask your team for the schedule in writing
At your counselling visit, ask for each check, the age it starts and how often it repeats. Ask them to check your copy before you leave.
Fill in what has already been done
Go through your old reports and write in the last date for each test. Blank lines show you what has never been done.
Set a reminder before each due date
Put a phone reminder about a month before each check is due. Some scans need booking well ahead, especially outside Hyderabad.
Take it to every appointment
Show it at the start. Ask the doctor to confirm the next date before you leave, and write it in straight away.
Review the whole plan once a year
New checks can start as you get older, and guidelines change. Go over it with your counsellor, and update it after marriage, pregnancy or surgery.
The template
The lines to copy onto your sheet
- Gene and variant
- Copy it letter for letter from your report. Small differences in spelling can mean a different variant.
- Classification
- Pathogenic, likely pathogenic or uncertain, as the report says. Surveillance is usually based on the first two only.
- Organ and test
- The organ being watched and the exact test, such as breast MRI or colonoscopy.
- How often
- The interval your team gives you, written in their words.
- Last done and next due
- The date and centre of the last check, and the month the next is due.
- Relatives told
- Which relatives know about the result and whether they have been offered testing.
Side by side
What makes a plan useful, and what makes it fail
A plan that works
A plan that quietly fails
Updated after every result
Written once and never touched again
Next due dates written as a month and year
Vague notes like "check again later"
A copy held by a relative
Only in one person's memory
Shown to every doctor you see
Kept at home in a drawer
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you which checks you need or how often. That depends on your gene, your age, your sex and your own history. What your specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the test.
It cannot replace your team's letters
If your plan and a doctor's letter disagree, follow the letter and ask the team to correct your plan. Your sheet is a summary, not a medical record.
Who this does not apply to
Most people do not need a personal surveillance plan. It is for confirmed carriers of a high-risk fault, and for some people with a very strong family history who have been told to have extra checks. If your result was a variant of uncertain significance, ask before building a plan around it.
Your team can help you write the plan in Telugu, so older relatives can read and follow it too.Commonly believed
Four things carriers tell us, and what is actually true
"The hospital will remind me, so I do not need a plan."
Reminders fail when phone numbers change or checks are spread across centres. The person who never misses a scan is usually the one keeping their own record.
"If my last scan was clear, I can skip the next one."
A clear scan covers that moment only. The risk comes from the gene and does not go away, which is why checks repeat.
"Only the carrier needs to know the plan."
A spouse or adult child who knows the plan can help with bookings and travel, and can speak for you if you are unwell.
"My plan will stay the same for life."
Checks are added and stopped at different ages, and guidelines are updated. Review it with your team from time to time.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about a personal surveillance plan
Can CION give me a written plan?
Your counsellor or oncologist can set out your checks in writing and go through them with you. Bring this layout along, and ask them to fill in the lines for your gene and age before you leave the room.
Should I keep paper or phone copies?
Both. Paper works when a phone is lost or out of charge. A photo on your phone works when you are travelling. Keep a third copy with a relative you trust.
What should I do if I miss a check?
Book it as soon as you can, and tell your team. A late check is far better than a skipped one. Then update your plan with the new date, so the next one is counted from there.
Do I include checks for my children?
Only if they have been tested and advised to start checks. For most adult-onset genes, children are not tested until adulthood. Keep a separate sheet for each person, never one shared sheet.
What if different doctors give different dates?
Ask your genetic counsellor to settle it. They can look at the whole plan and agree one schedule with the specialists involved. Write down which version was agreed and when.
Can checks be grouped into fewer trips?
Often, yes, especially for families travelling from a district. Ask your team whether two checks can be done on the same day or in the same week, and plan your sheet around that.
Should my employer or insurer see the plan?
That is your choice. The plan contains genetic information, and India has no specific law on genetic discrimination. Share it with doctors freely, and think carefully before sharing it elsewhere.
Who can help me set it up?
Your genetic counsellor is the best person to start with. Call the CION helpline if you do not have a team yet or are unsure who manages your checks, and someone will point you to the right clinic.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's oncologists. Bring your family history or genetic report to them.
Our medical oncologists see people with a strong family history of cancer, arrange genetic counselling and testing where it fits, and plan the checks that follow.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
- NCCN — Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, Pancreatic and Prostate
- NCCN — Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Colorectal, Endometrial and Gastric
- NHS — Predictive genetic tests for cancer risk genes
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Keeping track of a multi-organ screening scheduleTools and habits for juggling several checksSurveillance for hereditary cancer risk: the complete pictureWhat surveillance involves, organ by organWhen people stop attending screeningWhy scans slip, and how to get back on trackSurveillance in a district: travelling for screeningPlanning checks when the centre is far away
Talk to us
Need help filling in your checks?
Tell us your gene result and which checks you have had so far, and we will help you reach a counsellor who can set out the rest. You can bring your sheet along to the visit. One helpline serves every CION centre.