Alternative medicine (1)
- Alternative cancer treatments: 11 alternative treatments worth a try
Coping and support (9)
- Cancer treatment for women: Possible sexual side effects
- Cancer treatment for men: Possible sexual side effects
- When cancer returns: How to cope with cancer recurrence
- see all in Coping and support
Risk factors (2)
- Cancer risk: What the numbers mean
- Secondhand smoke: Avoid dangers in the air you breathe
Tests and diagnosis (8)
- Cancer survival rate: What it means for your prognosis
- Biopsy: Types of biopsy procedures used to diagnose cancer
- Cancer blood tests: Lab tests used in cancer diagnosis
- see all in Tests and diagnosis
Treatments and drugs (20)
- Cancer treatment myths: Any truth to these common beliefs?
- Cancer treatment decisions: 5 steps to help you decide
- Eating during cancer treatment: Tips to make food tastier
- see all in Treatments and drugs
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Cancer survivors: Managing late effects of cancer treatment
Learn about late and long-term effects of cancer treatment so that you can take more control of your health as a cancer survivor.
By Mayo Clinic staffYour cancer treatment is over, but your risk of side effects goes on. You might be surprised to know that side effects can continue after your cancer treatment or even develop several years later. Some cancer survivors wonder why they weren't told about the possibility of late effects before they began treatment.
The fact is that not much is known about late side effects of cancer treatment. While the lack of information can be frustrating for cancer survivors, don't feel completely helpless. Find out all you can about late effects of cancer treatment and use this information to take control of your health.
What are late effects of cancer treatment?
Late effects are side effects of cancer treatment that become apparent after your treatment has ended. Cancer survivors might experience late effects of cancer treatment a few months after treatment is completed or years later.
It isn't clear why these late effects are delayed. Some doctors believe that late effects simply weren't noticed during and immediately after your treatment, though the damage may have been there all along. It could be that your body was compensating for the damage caused by cancer treatment and is no longer able to do that, revealing these late effects.
In contrast with late effects, side effects that start during your cancer treatment and linger for months or years after are called long-term side effects. Long-term side effects usually are different from late side effects. For example, nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) is common during some types of chemotherapy and may begin during treatment and linger for months or even years after cancer treatment is completed. Most long-term effects lessen or completely resolve with time.
Some cancer survivors wonder why they weren't told about the possibility of long-term or late side effects before they began treatment. Sometimes cancer survivors were told, but with so much to remember and go through when you're first diagnosed and beginning treatment, it's easy to forget or not absorb all the information. Sometimes your doctor doesn't discuss late side effects because it's impossible to predict every single side effect, early or late, that some treatments have. It's also possible that the late effects of your treatment weren't known at the time you began treatment.
What cancer treatments cause late effects?
Late effects of cancer treatment can come from any of the three main types of cancer treatment: chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. As newer types of cancer treatment are developed, doctors may find that these treatments also cause late effects in cancer survivors.
In general, chemotherapy tends to cause more long-term side effects than late side effects in cancer survivors, though the late effects chemotherapy causes can be serious. Radiation usually causes more late effects in cancer survivors, though it can also cause long-term effects. If you have a combination of treatments, you're more likely to experience late effects.
| Treatment | Long-term side effects | Late side effects |
|---|---|---|
| Chemotherapy | Fatigue Menopausal symptoms Neuropathy Chemobrain Heart failure Kidney failure Infertility Liver problems |
Cataracts Infertility Liver problems Lung disease Osteoporosis Reduced lung capacity Second primary cancers |
| Radiation therapy | Fatigue Skin sensitivity |
Cataracts Cavities and tooth decay Heart problems Hypothyroidism Infertility Lung disease Intestinal problems Memory problems Second primary cancers |
| Surgery | Scars Chronic pain |
Lymphedema |
Keep in mind that not everyone who has cancer treatment gets each of the long-term or late side effects, and some people might not experience any aftereffects of treatment. Different chemotherapy drugs cause different late effects. So if you didn't take the chemotherapy drugs that can cause infertility, then you aren't believed to be at risk of that particular late effect. Radiation and surgery will only affect the area of the body they're used to treat. So if you had radiation to a part of your body other than your head or neck, then you won't be at risk of cavities and tooth decay as a result of your radiation therapy.
Next page(1 of 2)
