Childhood cancer survivors more susceptible to heart problems

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Brittany Galan, 22, has been seeing oncologists since she was an infant. At 6-weeks-old, she was diagnosed with leukemia and she was given only a 10 percent survival rate.

Miraculously, after six months of chemotherapy, Galan was cured. But two decades later during a routine exam, she received a shocking diagnosis.

"I was about 20 at the time and [my doctor] came back with the results and she says, 'You need to see a cardiologist,'" Galan said.

Physicians believe the chemotherapy that saved her life as a baby may be the cause of her recent cardiac problems.

Dr. Greg Aune, an oncologist and pediatric hematologist at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, knows all too well what young cancer patients are going through. In his teens, Aune was cured of Hodgkin's disease. At the age of 35, he developed heart problems.

He ended up going through open heart surgery to save his life, he said.

Now, Aune collects and analyzes data from childhood cancer survivors.

"The younger you are, the tissues are theoretically more sensitive to chemotherapy," he said.

There are two types of cancer treatments known to lead to heart problems later in life: anthracycline chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Helen Parsons, a health services researcher at UT Health Science Center, said the data Aune collects helps to identify who is more susceptible to heart problems later in life.

"The purpose of this study is to really identify the types of people who, after they're treated for chemotherapy, are more likely to develop heart problems," she said.

Doctors say young childhood survivors should have frequent check-ups at least once a year to monitor their heart function. Cancer survivors, like Brittany, know what it takes to stay on top of their health.

"If I didn't take the medication that I take now, I don't know where I'd be," she said.