Survivors Face Furture Health Risks
Posted 4/12/2012
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Once again, we are confronted with our special version of "no good deed goes unpunished." There is gathering evidence that breast cancer survivors face future health risks due to the treatment that may have saved our lives. Clearly, at the time of diagnosis and treatment planning, the focus must be on eradicating (we hope!) the cancer. We understand that surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy are powerful agents that bring risks as well as benefits. I have known a few women who were so worried about the risks that they declined potentially life-saving treatments. Most of us are intent on treating the cancer. This is a summary from BreastCancer.org about the article that was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
I give you the beginning of the summary and then a link:
Cancer Survivors Face Major Health Risks
Charles Bankhead
What breastcancer.org says about this article...
Cancer Survivors Face Major Health Risks
Along with surgery, therapies such as radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted and hormonal medicines make breast cancer treatable. Still, because the treatments have unavoidable effects on healthy cells as well as cancer cells, there are pros and cons associated with each. Some of radiation's possible unintended effects are heart damage and developing a new, different cancer in the future.
The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has confirmed the risks of radiation therapy to treat cancer. In a report, the council noted that as the number of cancer survivors tripled in the last 40 years, more survivors have developed heart problems or a new, different cancer likely related to radiation exposure during treatment for the first cancer.
Findings from the report were published in the Feb. 6, 2012 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Besides confirming the heart problems and future cancer risks linked to cancer radiation therapy, the NCRP report pointed out that doctors don't have good guidance on how large these risks are and how best to manage and monitor them.
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