Published: Saturday, May 18, 2020
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The Conversation, by Sarah Diepstraten & Terry Boyle
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A cancer diagnosis can change your life and cause you to have a variety of concerns regarding your health.
Fear of cancer returning is a major health concern. Cancer treatment involves managing the fear of cancer returning.
How likely is it that you will get cancer a second or third time?
Why can cancer come back?
Even though the initial treatment for cancer may appear to be successful, some cancer cells can remain dormant. These cancer cells may grow and cause symptoms over time.
Cancer recurrence is when cancer returns after a period in remission. This could last for days, months, or even years. The cancerous cells are the same as those in the original tumor, but they can grow in new locations through a process known as metastasis.
Hugh Jackman, an actor and skin cancer patient, has revealed that he was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma multiple times over the last decade.
Cancer types and treatments have a different effect on why cancer returns. Researchers are working to identify the genes that cause cancer to return. It may be possible to tailor treatment for people at high risk.
What is the likelihood of cancer returning?
Cancers and subtypes of the cancer have different risks of returning.
Many types of cancer have experienced a reduction in the recurrence rate due to new screening and treatment options. Between 2004 and 2019, for example, the risk of colon cancer returning dropped by 31 to 68%. Remember that only the treatment team of an individual can determine their personal risk for cancer recurring.
The highest risk for cancer to return is in the first three months after a remission. The reason for this is that any cancer cells left over after treatment will likely start to grow again sooner than later. Recurrence rates of most cancers drop three years after remission. This means that each day passes reduces the chance that the cancer will return.
Cancer drugs and new discoveries are being developed every day.
What about a second cancer that is unrelated?
We learned earlier this year that Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess York, was diagnosed with malignant melanomas (a form of skin cancer), shortly after she had undergone treatment for breast cancer.
This is likely not a recurrence of the original cancer.
Australian research in Queensland and Tasmania has shown that adults with cancer are at a higher risk for developing a secondary primary cancer than the general population.
Who is at risk for another cancer unrelated?
Cancer patients are now living longer thanks to advances in diagnosis and treatment. They need to think about their long-term health and their risk of developing a second cancer.
The same type of cancers can be caused by the same lifestyle, environment and genetic factors.
This increased risk may also be due to the effects of some cancer treatments or imaging procedures on the body. This increased risk is small compared to the benefits (often life-saving) of these treatments and procedures.
Although a higher chance of a second unrelated cancer of 3-66% may seem high, in the Australian studies that we have mentioned, only 10-12% of participants developed a secondary cancer. Both studies had a median time between follow-ups of five years.
In a large US-based study, only one out of 12 adult cancer patients (average of seven years) developed a second cancer type during the follow-up phase.
Your first cancer type and the second cancer that you may be at risk for will also influence your risk. In the two Australian studies that we mentioned, for example, the risk of second cancer is higher in people who have been diagnosed with head and neck cancer or a blood cancer.
Cancer in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood is associated with a higher risk of developing a second cancer.
What can I do in order to reduce my risk?
Regular follow-up exams can provide peace of mind and ensure that any cancers are caught early when the chances of a successful treatment are highest.
Some cancers can be treated with maintenance therapy to reduce their risk of returning. There are currently no treatments that can prevent cancer recurrence.
There are some things you can reduce your risk of getting cancer. These include not smoking, staying physically active, eating healthy, maintaining a good body weight, limiting the amount of alcohol consumed, and using sun protection. All of these things reduce your chances of getting cancer again or a second one.
This article was republished by The Conversation, under a Creative Commons License. The original article can be read.
Source: Medical Xpress