Cancer survivors face other battles
By Liz Szabo,
A new study finds that cancer casts a long shadow on the
lives of survivors, harming their ability to work and perform daily chores more
than a decade after diagnosis.
Compared with people without the disease, cancer survivors
feel sicker, miss work more often, are more likely to be disabled and bedridden
and are less likely to be employed, according to a study in today's Journal of
the National Cancer Institute.
In a survey of more than 1,800 cancer survivors and nearly
5,500 people never diagnosed with the disease, 31% of survivors described their
health as fair or poor, compared with 18% of other people. Cancer survivors
more often suffered from a litany of ills, including arthritis, back or neck
problems, fractures, high blood pressure and breathing problems.
The study's lead author, Robin Yabroff of the National
Cancer Institute (NCI), says she was surprised that problems lingered so long,
even when cancer survivors were compared with people of the same age, sex and
educational level. The study was based the 2000 National Health Interview
Survey, conducted annually by the
Yabroff says the survey does not reveal whether survivors'
problems stemmed from disabilities caused by the initial cancer, returning
tumors or the toxic side effects of treatment.
Despite the problems, cancer survivors were no more likely
to be depressed or to suffer from strokes, heart problems, diabetes
or weight problems.
David Johnson, president of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma about 15 years ago. He says
he still suffers from pain in his joints and neck and has developed
hypertension and breathing problems.
Earlier research has shown that survivors often struggle
with a variety of serious problems, many stemming from treatment. Chemotherapy
can damage the heart, hormone treatments can cause impotence, and radiation
sometimes leads to secondary cancers. Women who undergo radical mastectomies
often suffer from a painful swelling of the arms for which there is no
effective treatment.
Johnson acknowledges that today's article paints a somewhat
bleak picture of survivors. But, he notes, "you
have to be alive to have these problems."
In fact, about 64% of cancer patients now survive at least
five years, according to the NCI.
And half of people with cancer live as long as those without
the disease, says Harmon Eyre, chief medical officer of the American Cancer
Society, which is preparing its own study of 25,000 cancer survivors.
Today's article is the latest in a series of reports
published in the past six months that focuses on the needs of the nation's
nearly 10 million cancer survivors, a growing field of research. The article underscores
the need to find cancer earlier, Eyre says. In many cases, early-stage disease
is more easily cured and causes less long-term damage.
"Our goal is to have these people have the highest
quality of life available," Eyre says. "And to do that, we need to
learn about them."