Childhood Cancer Survivors Age Faster than Others

People who survive cancer at a tender age are at a high risk of aging faster than their peers. A latest study has shown that childhood cancer survivors have increased chances of developing chronic diseases and becoming frail at a young age.

The study was conducted by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They found that cancer survivors were more likely to report exhaustion and difficulty in breathing when compared with cancer-free adults of the same age.

Nearly 2,000 young cancer survivors participated in the current study. In this group, 13.1 percent women and 2.7 percent men were frail even after they reached an average age of 34 years.

Researchers then compared the test group with a control group of nearly 350 people with no history of cancer and an average age of 29 years. None of the people in the control group were frail.

Usually, high rates of weakness in cancer survivors shows that they are aging faster than others, Researchers said. Frail childhood cancer survivors had a greater risk of early death and developing chronic diseases when compared with their peers.

Exercise and a proper diet can help delay frailty in this group, researchers said.

"There are steps survivors can take to reduce their risk and improve their fitness," said the study's first author Kirsten Ness, Ph.D., an associate member of the St. Jude Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, according to a press release.

The study also found that male survivors who smoked were underweight had higher risk of frailty. However, lifestyle wasn't associated with frailty in women.

The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.                                     

Thanks to advances in medical sciences, many people are now surviving cancer. However, the journey doesn't end there. A long life post cancer means making several lifestyle changes. A recent poll by Lance Armstrong Foundation showed that 70 percent of the survivors experienced depression and over 50 percent had reduced sexual desire.

National Cancer Institute's site has additional information on Life after Cancer.