Rock Tom----See that you are from Ann Arbor, and I hope you took treatments at St. Joe's instead of "you know where"! I live close by AA & now try to only use the wonderful staff at St. Joe's.
To get to your question, I think in my case, I try to forget, then it comes back & literally socks me in the face. (My nose, to be precise) I had a number of Basal Cells cancers several years ago, which were pretty deep & scaring. Last week another popped up & I had to have it removed surgically.
The wound is deep & disfiguring. Perhaps plastic surgery is in the future.
But it never seems to go away, at least for me, cancer sadly seems in my genes as I have had so many different types. Maybe a lobotomy might work!!!