Lifestyle - How to keep healthy
You have survived cancer or a similar illness and that means you are one of an increasing number of young adults who have been treated successfully. There are now over 20,000 adult survivors of childhood cancer in the UK alone. This package has been produced to help answer some questions you might have and explain why you may still need to be followed up.
It is important that survivors of childhood cancer are monitored to detect and manage any long-term problems caused by the disease or treatment to ensure the best possible quality of life. You may know a lot about your illness or you may know very little. We hope this booklet will help answer any questions and encourage you to ask about anything else that isn’t covered. You may have been treated for a tumour or condition that was not cancerous but because of the treatment you had this booklet still applies to you. Your doctor will explain why.
The first part of the package is a booklet. It covers general topics. We have included several web sites and phone numbers for further information. One site is www.aftercure.org which includes more specific fact sheets about the effects of different treatments on different parts of your body depending on the treatment you had.
The second part is a brief treatment summary card. It is important to know what treatment you had so you can understand the problems that might occur. This card is small so it can be kept in a wallet or purse for easy access if you ever need to know the details of your treatment. For example, you will need it for an antenatal visit or employment medical.
Some survivors talk about experiencing job discrimination, or difficulties obtaining health or travel insurance. This may be because people know very little about cancer and are frightened about what is involved. Their reaction may be to avoid contact with people who had cancer. This is a good reason for you to know about your disease, its treatment and potential effects later in life. In this way you can talk to people about your cancer. The more people get to know about childhood cancer the easier it will be for you and for other children in the future.
The risk of a problem occurring later on is different for everyone, it depends on,
- Your type of cancer
- The age when you were treated
- The treatment you had
Two thirds of survivors will have some problem related to their treatment. For some this will be very minor. For others it may be more major. In any case you are not alone if you have a problem. We have included quotes from survivors of childhood cancer. We hope that this booklet will help you knowing that other survivors often have similar feelings and worries.
It is important to remember that although your cancer experience will always be part of you it does not define the person you are.
Chris Doran
This website is produced on behalf of the CCLG Late Effects Group.
Edited by Dr Annie Griffiths | Contributors
Designed by the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG)
© CCLG 2007