Your Heart After Childhood Cancer

Key points about your heart after childhood cancer

• some chemotherapy medicines and radiation can affect your heart
• if you have had a type of chemotherapy medicine called anthracyclines, or radiation to the chest, you will need to have your heart checked
• heart checks happen during treatment and sometimes for many years after treatment has finished

Which childhood cancer treatments can affect my heart?

If you have had a type of chemotherapy medicine called anthracyclines, or radiation to the chest, you will need to have your heart checked. Heart checks happen during treatment and sometimes for many years after treatment has finished.

The most commonly used anthracyclines in children's cancer treatment are:

• doxorubicin
• daunorubicin
• epirubicin
• idarubicin
• mitozantrone

How can childhood cancer treatments affect my heart?

Anthracyclines can cause damage to the heart muscle. This can make it harder for your heart to pump blood around your body.

High dose radiation to the chest can sometimes damage some parts of the heart such as the heart muscle, heart valves and the lining of the blood vessels in and around the heart.

Read more about long-term follow-up in childhood cancer

How will I know if my heart is affected after childhood cancer treatments?

You will need a special ultrasound scan of your heart. This is called an echocardiogram and can show any problems. You may have already had an echocardiogram. If you are at higher risk of problems, you may have an echocardiogram every few years. If you have a low risk, you may only need one or two.

If the echocardiogram shows you have a problem, you will see a heart specialist (cardiologist). They will check your heart and may give you medicine to help your heart function better.

Everyone is different, and your oncology doctor is the best person to talk to about this.

What can I do to stay healthy after childhood cancer?

Exercise and eating well

Keeping fit, eating well, not gaining too much weight, and having regular health checks are all important ways of looking after your heart. Exercise is great - it's a good idea to check with your family doctor before starting any exercise programme.

Read more advice for keeping healthy after childhood cancer

Avoid smoking and recreational drugs

Make sure you don't ever smoke or use recreational drugs. Recreational drugs like cocaine can cause rapid heart rate and irregular heartbeat, especially if your heart is already damaged.

Tell your healthcare provider about the treatments you've had

Make sure your healthcare provider knows the treatment you had, so they can check your heart health - remember to give them a copy of your treatment summary ('health passport'), available from your LEAP team.

Find LEAP contacts in your area

Read more about childhood cancer