Radiation therapy, like surgery and chemotherapy, is a mainstay of cancer treatment. The reason radiation is used to treat cancer is that it is usually toxic to the fast growing cancer cells while supposedly having little adverse effects on the slow growing and relatively radiation resistant normal body cells. Unfortunately, normal cells are often affected by radiation in a variety of ways, especially over time.

The Long-Term Follow-Up (LTFU) Study has resulted in more than 300 publications in scientific journals since it was launched in 1994. Some of these articles are summarized here.

New research presented at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium suggests that acupuncture may help ease “brain fog” and thinking difficulties many survivors struggle with after cancer treatment.

In a recent Cancer Culture article, radiation oncologist Dr. Stacy Wentworth challenges the idea of ranking cancers as “good” or “bad.” She argues that while diagnoses and treatments differ, survivorship challenges are often shared, and far too many people are left without guidance once treatment ends. The real issue is not which cancer is worse, but how many survivors are navigating life after cancer without the information, monitoring, and support they need. This is exactly why Hodgkin’s International exists: to make sure no one is left to figure out life after cancer alone.

New data from HeartValveSurgery.com reveals important differences in re-operation rates between surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The article explains how long each type of valve tends to last, which procedure may require future intervention, and what that means for long-term outcomes. This is a valuable read for anyone considering valve replacement or planning for heart health.

Many long-term survivors are at higher risk for heart valve disease, especially those who had chest radiation. Aortic regurgitation—when the aortic valve doesn’t close properly—can quietly progress until symptoms appear. This resource from Heart-Valve-Surgery.com explains what to watch for, how it’s diagnosed, and treatment options available to survivors.

Survivors of childhood and adolescent cancers—especially those treated for Hodgkin lymphoma—face a significantly higher risk of developing cardiometabolic issues later in life. These include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, insulin resistance, and early-onset cardiovascular disease, often tied to past chemotherapy or radiation to the chest.

We often hear that stress is bad for our health—but emerging research is now revealing just how deeply stress can affect cancer outcomes.

Here are the results of a fascinating study on the risk of bone density loss in adult survivors of childhood cancer. This research looked at more than 3900 survivors from the St. Jude Lifetime cohort. Not surprisingly, the study showed that a significant portion of these survivors had significant bone loss decades after their treatment ended. Increased doses of radiation led to increased risks, though the researchers found that other comorbid conditions like sedentary behavior and smoking were factors that led to loss of bone density.