Because of significant advances in treatment, 77% of children and young people treated for cancer survive five years or more, an increase of almost 45% since the early 1960's. With childhood cancer survivors living longer, their long-term health has come more into focus in recent years. Researchers have learned that the effects of childhood cancer treatment may affect a survivor's health many years later. This result becomes known as a “late effect.”

Just as the treatment of childhood cancer requires a very specialised approach, so does aftercare and monitoring for late effects. Careful follow-up after cancer treatment allows for early identification of and attention to the after-effects of treatment.

Late effects are caused by the injury that cancer treatment causes to the healthy cells in the body. They may occur as a result of surgery, radiation therapy, some chemotherapy medications, or bone marrow transplantation.

Lack of cell nourishment, chronic cell injury, death of healthy cells, and scar tissue formation may all contribute to late effects.

At times, I go in for a checkup with a head full of questions about late-effects and come out no better informed. There seems to be so little conclusive research about what is going to happen to us.

Each child/young person receiving cancer therapy is unique, with treatment varying from person to person, cancer to cancer. Late effects will also vary, and depend largely on the type of therapy received and the doses of that therapy. The very young child may be at the greatest risk.

The majority of late effects result from chemotherapy or radiation. Extensive surgery may also lead to late effects, but this is less common.