A method for determining an optimized surveillance schedule of follow-up diagnostic tests and doctor visits considers the tradeoff between timely detection of relapse and the cost of the diagnostic procedures. Determining subsequent testing dates for detection of a disease includes the steps of: a.) choosing a surveillance schedule, wherein the surveillance schedule includes a plurality of time segments for which a corresponding test is scheduled, wherein the first surveillance schedule has associated therewith a plurality of probabilities representing the probabilities that relapse will be detected in the corresponding plurality of time segments of the surveillance schedule; b.) determining a solution for an equation 1 i = m + 1 n P ( i ) C / T and c.) delaying each subsequent testing date until the cost per detected relapse is below a probability threshold of C/T.