What late effects might people who were treated for childhood cancers experience?

If you underwent cancer treatment as a child, you may be at risk of many of the same late side effects of treatment as people who were adults during their cancer treatments.

But you may also be at risk of additional late side effects. That's because children's bones, tissues and organs are growing rapidly during treatment, so cancer treatment can interfere during this critical time of growth.

As with late side effects in adult cancer survivors, late side effects in childhood cancer survivors will vary depending on the type of cancer and type of treatment. Additionally, the age at which you were treated may determine what late side effects, if any, might be of risk to you.

Childhood cancer survivors experience some of these late side effects:

• Heart problems, including an increased risk of heart attacks
• Blood vessel problems, including an increased risk of stroke
• Lung problems, which can cause difficulty breathing
• Liver problems
• Kidney problems
• Cataracts
• Bone problems, such as bone thinning (osteoporosis) and joint pain
• Short stature, caused by slow bone growth
• Obesity
• Infertility
• Memory problems and learning disabilities
• Vision loss
• Hearing loss
• Thyroid problems
• Increased risk of other types of cancers
• Nerve damage

If you were treated for cancer many years ago, you may assume any health problems you have are related to aging, not past cancer treatments.

Tell your doctor what you know about your childhood cancer treatments. If your parents or other family members have records of your treatment, provide those for your doctor.