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Side Effects Observed Long After Childhood Cancer TreatmentsBY: Ritu Choudhary | Category: Childhood Cancer | Submitted: 2010-06-13 10:51:34
In many cases of cancer, the late effects are seen in the patients. These late effects, however can be treated well if the patients go for regular diagnosis and regular follow ups. As far as the childhood cancer is concerned, it has been observed that the late effects in this case are found to be new that ensures more and more survivals of the kids from this form of cancer. Most common late effects that are observed within the small patients have been mentioned in this article. These side effects appear among the kids after they get it treated completely. Some of the common late effects include learning disability, hearing loss, abnormal growth of bones, thyroid problems, visible problems, dental problems, problems in liver, emergence of heart problems kidney and other organs, etc. First and foremost among these late effects that are observed among the children in case of childhood cancer is their disability in learning. The memory impairment or the disability in cognitive phases appears among these patients after they get it treated. This is because of the therapies that they receive when they are too young. This case is more common among the small patients who receive these treatments when they are even smaller than five years of age. These treatments may include chemotherapy drugs directly into the spines or radiation to the head or the neck area. When the chemotherapy drugs, such as, methotrexate and cytarabine are injected within the kids, their learning process gets interfered, due to which they lose their strength of memorizing the things. Thus, the patients must go for an evaluation if they face difficulties in learning after their childhood cancer treatment. The other side effect that is observed within the kids is the abnormal growth of their bone. The patients who are treated with radiation therapies seem to face stunted bone growth after a particular stage of development mostly in the areas where the radiation was targeted. In case of chemotherapy also, the similar effect is detected and the small kids stop growing after reaching a certain height. The growth difficulties arise as a result of the treatments that pose side effects on the glands and the hormones of the endocrine system. In the patients who were less than five years of age or the ones who were at their puberty during their treatments are supposed to be at higher risk of getting affected by these side effects and are more likely to develop osteoporosis or scoliosis. The delayed sexual development and fertility among the patients is observed long after their childhood cancer treatment. The chemotherapy as well as the radiation therapy affects the fertility process in the patients abruptly. This is generally caused due to the damage if any to the endocrine system or specific hormones or the sexual organs of the patients during their childhood. Thus, it is observed that a special care and prior attention is given to the patients to lower these forms of risks. The risk of the emergence of heart problems is also common among the patients after their childhood cancer treatments. The childhood cancer treatment through therapies also increases the risk of developing other cancers in future among these patients. The reappearances or the pre disposition of the masses of cancer cells may contribute in doing so. Therefore, the patients must keep on going for the regular follow ups or evaluation after getting their cancer completely treated. This is because until and unless they are careful themselves, no one could help them in reducing these late effects from appearing in later stages of their life. Article Source: http://www.cancer-surgery.com/ About Author / Additional Info: I am not a cancer doctor. Always consult your doctor before taking any action or conclusion regarding your medical condition. Comments on this article: (0 comments so far)
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