For many childhood cancer survivors, the anniversary of your treatment ending is like another birthday. And the fifth birthday is a big one—the likelihood of recurrence continues to drop and you're officially considered a long-term survivor.

That fifth anniversary also is a great time to take charge of your health. Thanks to improving treatment methods and better technology, more and more childhood cancer survivors are now living long into adulthood.

Although you may feel great, as a childhood cancer survivor, you face a higher risk of health issues later in life as a result of your cancer and related treatment. These complications—often called "late effects"—can include heart problems, hearing loss, vision loss, infertility, other hormone-related issues, and secondary cancers. Childhood cancer survivors also might have trouble learning or face emotional difficulties more often than their peers.

But with care from specialists in cancer survivorship, you can minimize the impact late effects might have on your life.

Learn more

Explore this site using the navigation bar on the right side of this page to learn more about late effects of childhood cancer and its treatment, who's at risk, what University of Minnesota researchers today are doing to prevent and minimize late effects, and why long-term follow-up care is important.

Hear from survivors

Four childhood cancer survivors share how late effects are affecting—and not affecting—their lives.

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If you're a childhood cancer survivor, now is a great time to take charge of your health. Call the Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic at 612-625-5411 to learn how.

The Growing Up After Cancer section of the Masonic Cancer Center Web site was produced by University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate student Nicole Endres. The section's medical content was written under the advisement of Masonic Cancer Center member Joseph Neglia, M.D., M.P.H.