Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer: Health Blog
A just released New England Journal of Medicine study concludes that as the first generation of patients to survive pediatric cancer nears middle-age, more than 73% of patients cured of pediatric cancer will develop a chronic illness within 30 years of diagnosis. And about 42% will develop a severe, disabling, life-threatening or fatal condition. Their health problems -- which include heart disease, lung scarring, strokes and second cancers -- can be caused both by their original tumors, as well as the harsh treatments used to cure them, says lead author Kevin Oeffinger, director of the program for adult survivors of pediatric cancer at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
The amazing thing about this study is not the results as published, but that the doctors involved and the media reporting on it seem to think this is a revelation. Let's be clear here.
- Virtually all chemotherapy drugs are known carcinogens. How could this come as a surprise that they might cause serious illness down the road?
- Chemotherapy drugs are at best a short term solution. They do not address the reason someone got cancer. Or to put it another way, no one ever got cancer because they were suffering from a chemotherapy deficiency.
For a better understanding of the nature of cancer, check out my talk: Cancer, the Big Lie.
Also, the newsletter article, Chemotherapy, an Interesting Choice.