New Dangers for Cancer Survivors

Study says chemotherapy leads to chronic health conditions in young adults.

Danielle Eichner of Rockville, Maryland, is a survivor. A decade ago, when she was 11, doctors diagnosed her with acute leukaemia and warned that death was imminent. But chemotherapy kept her alive. She graduated from high school, is attending college and will soon launch a career as an art therapist.

Only now, after a landmark study of childhood cancer survivors, are Eichner and her parents realising how the drugs and radiation that saved her life might affect her in the future.

The study concluded that many young adults who conquered cancer as children suffer chronic health issues more commonly seen in the elderly, including osteoporosis, hearing loss, thyroid problems and heart damage. More than one in every four have potentially life-threatening conditions.