Sheri Prentiss, MD, MPH, CPS/A, CPE, FACPE is both a clinician and a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been living with one of the most difficult repercussions from her treatment – lymphedema. Dr. Prentiss poignantly describes her ongoing battle with this late effect.

The data indicates that there is, indeed, an increased risk for pulmonary issues, including pneumonia, for young adult survivors. The article does not specify what causes this outcome, but we do know that radiation to the chest area can be a major culprit. If you have been treated for cancer, especially with radiation, you may want to be followed by a pulmonologist in addition to your other providers. Many Hodgkin’s survivors have regular “pulmonary function tests,” or PFT’s, to help monitor our lung health.

Here is a comprehensive look at a late effect that many Hodgkin’s survivors suffer from – dropped head syndrome. While we have understood that the primary cause may be radiation fibrosis, there are some studies that point to some chemotherapy agents that could also produce these symptoms.

Authored by Dr.Christina Poza-Kaderman and Saul Wisnia, this article offers some great advice for AYA’s who are challenged by a cancer diagnosis.

Cancer diagnoses are associated with a lower risk for subsequent dementia diagnosis, with the relationship strongest for cancers with poor prognoses, underscoring the need to investigate biological and survival-related mechanisms linking cancer and dementia.

Key considerations that both clinicians and survivors face when using cannabis to relieve pain and other symptoms. 

Key considerations that both clinicians and survivors face when using cannabis to relieve pain and other symptoms.

A new article from Medscape examines how many cancer survivors face health challenges similar to “accelerated aging” – including early heart disease, frailty, and other conditions. If you’re a survivor, consider sharing this article with your primary care doctor. It’s a powerful way to help them understand what survivorship really means.

Hodgkin’s International recognizes that choosing to have a vaccine or forgoing one is ultimately a personal decision. In this article, Blood Cancer United (formerly Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) lists all of the vaccines that are recommended for survivors, and those that are NOT recommended.

Survivorship follow-up care is currently a much debated topic. Questions such as, “Who is in charge of my care now that treatment is completed?” are commonly asked by survivors, and the answers are varied and often confusing. This article addresses many of those questions. It includes comments from Dr. Kevin Oeffinger, who has worked tirelessly to create quality care for survivors.