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.

Researchers have found a potential link to the consumption of coffee and tea to the reduced risk of head and neck cancers. The “how’s and why’s” are not yet clear, but we find this to be a very interesting discovery, especially as Hodgkin’s survivors may be at risk for cancers of the neck (esophageal) due to earlier radiation treatments.

“Active Surveillance” is defined as “a way to monitor cancer without immediately treating it, with the goal of delaying treatment until it’s necessary.” It is generally used to monitor low-risk cancers. Patients who are undergoing active surveillance may have regular tests and exams, such as bloodwork, X-rays or MRI’s, and even biopsies. It sounds a lot like what survivors of Hodgkin’s who are at risk for late effects are going through! While this article does not address late effects, it does call attention to the uncertainty and anxiety that many people experience when being watched closely – even if it’s with the intention to prevent a cancer diagnosis.

Many Hodgkin’s survivors rely on levothyroxine (or name brand Synthroid) after radiation-induced thyroid damage—but a new study highlights a hidden risk.

Here is some good news for Hodgkin’s survivors who suffer from cardiac failure due to aortic valve regurgitation – a common late effect for those who had chest radiation. The forward progression of this trial could ultimately mean that there are additional, far less invasive (and grueling!) options for open-heart surgery (SAVR). Hodgkin’s survivors often have complicating co-morbidities when it comes to surgical valve replacement procedures, making the use of TAVR a welcome choice.

This article summarizes a study using data collected from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. It affirms that long-term cancer survivors, even those who are decades beyond treatment, continue to have a fear of recurrence. This research went beyond merely compiling statistics. It looked at some of the predictors and risk factors as well as interventions to help survivors manage these fears.

The results of this recent study show that only about one-third of childhood cancer survivors adhered to follow-up recommendations regarding late effects. This finding is indeed alarming but probably not surprising to many long-term survivors.