Although people who survive a childhood cancer are at an increased risk of developing and dying from subsequent cancers, as well as heart disease and stroke, they can reduce this increased risk by following a healthy lifestyle, say US investigators.
This message comes from a retrospective analysis of more than 34,000 childhood cancer survivors, which found that 40 years after the initial cancer diagnosis, the cumulative all-cause mortality rate was 23.3%, compared with less than 5% in the general population.
However, following a healthy lifestyle was associated with a 20% reduction in health-related mortality, independent of other factors, the analysis