Commentary – Survivors of Childhood Cancer in the United States: Prevalence and Burden of Morbidity
Estimates of the overall 5-year survival rates for childhood cancers have steadily increased since the 1970s and are currently over 80% . While increased survival rates are promising, cancer treatments don’t just kill cancer cells, they also kill normal healthy tissue cells. Thus, individuals diagnosed with cancer as children (ages 0-19 years) have an increased risk of adverse health and quality of life outcomes compared to individuals of the same age without a cancer history.