Challenges After Curative Treatment for Childhood Cancer and Long-Term Follow up of Survivors

Childhood cancer survivors are at increased risk of serious morbidity, premature mortality, and diminished health status. Proactive and anticipatory risk-based health care of survivors and healthy lifestyles can reduce these risks. In this article, the authors first briefly discuss four common problems of survivors: neurocognitive dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, infertility and gonadal dysfunction, and psychosocial problems. Second, the authors discuss the concept of risk-based care, promote the use of recently developed evidence-based guidelines, describe current care in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, and articulate a model for shared survivor care that aims to optimize life long health of survivors and improve two-way communication between the cancer center and the primary care physician.