Girls treated years ago for Hodgkin’s disease have high risk for breast cancer later on
February 13, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
As more children are surviving childhood cancers, some are finding themselves fighting the battle again later on, in adulthood. Such is the case with many women who were treated for Hodgkin’s disease when they were children if they were treated with radiation. And, the higher the radiation, the 
higher the risk – up to 40 times that of women who didn’t have Hodgkin’s disease, say researchers.
Until about 20 years ago, Hodgkin’s disease in children was treated very aggressively with high doses of radiation and little else, but the survival rate has increased significantly. Over the past two decades, with improvements in technology and increase in knowledge, the amount of radiation needed and used has almost halved if not replaced completely by chemotherapy in some children.
As well, the total body surface that was exposed to radiation – what used to be the pretty well the entire upper torso – has been made a lot smaller. Hopefully, these changes will help reduce the number of women at risk for breast cancer as this generation of children reach adulthood.
You can read more about the study and its findings at the University of Florida website.
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Image: iStock.com
Tags: cancer blog, hodgins lymphoma, breast cancer, radiation for hodgkins lymphoma
There has also been some research into ways to keep the radiation from having to pass through the breast tissue, though nothing has been terribly successful to date.