Outlook poor for cancer survivors

Shocking numbers of childhood cancer survivors suffer debilitating chronic health problems in later life, largely because of the treatment.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Jun 2013, 01:01 BST

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, US researchers reported “extraordinarily high” rates of illness with 80 per cent experiencing serious, disabling or life-threatening disorders by the age of 45.

One member of the Tennessee University research team said the pattern of accumulating sickness suggested a process of accelerated ageing. Overall, 98 per cent of the 1,713 survivors studied were found to have at least one chronic health condition.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The problems included new cancers, impaired lung function, heart disease, mental impairment, hormonal disorders, kidney dysfunction, hearing loss and infertility.

In many cases the effects were strongly linked to high-risk chemo and radiotherapy.

Cancer treatment was associated with between 88 per cent and 100 per cent of cases of endocrinopathy, or damage to the hormonal system, they said.