ECCO 2017 | Issues with treating late cancer effects from pediatric cancer

Carina Schneider from the Austrian Childhood Cancer Organisation discusses issues with treating late treatment effects from paediatric cancer at the European Cancer Congress of the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. There can be late effects from certain cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. These effects, such as impaired hearing, cardiac problems, and altered endocrine systems, can be present for the rest of your life, and require regular check-ups and screening. This can be an issue, especially when patients transition from paediatrics to the adult healthcare system when they turn 18. There is a lack of specialists in the adult healthcare system who can treat the late effects of treatments from childhood cancer. To change this, patients need to be informed early on in the treatment, and paediatric oncologists need to make recommendations, and help patients to find relevant specialists. Adult oncology specialists could also educate themselves about paediatric oncology to be able to treat these effects.