Some side effects from treatment may not show up until many months or years later. These are called late effects. Your treatment will be carefully planned to reduce the risk of any of these late effects.
With improved staging and treatment of lymphoma, late effects are less likely than in the past. Your doctor will talk to you about any possible late effects before treatment starts.
When treatment finishes, talk to your doctors about your risk of developing late effects from treatment and how this will be monitored. Ask for a written summary of your treatments so you have this on hand if needed. It is important that you talk to your doctors about any symptoms that appear, even many years after treatment.
Second cancers
Occasionally, many years after successful treatment for lymphoma, some people develop a new, unrelated cancer. This may be either a new form of lymphoma or leukaemia, or a type of solid cancer.
Sometimes a second cancer develops due to being diagnosed at a young age with lymphoma, being treated with certain chemotherapy drugs, or having inherited a genetic risk. In some cases, radiation therapy can also increase the risk of developing a second cancer near the area treated.
Heart problems
There can be a higher risk of problems with the heart and blood vessels after cancer treatment. This is called cardiovascular disease or heart disease.
When working out the best treatment for you, your doctors will check your heart health. This is to try to find a therapy that is effective in treating the cancer while causing the least amount of damage to the heart and blood vessels.
Certain chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy drugs may cause heart problems. Radiation therapy to the chest can also cause problems with the heart.
Let your doctor know if you notice pain or tightness in the chest or feel your heart is beating too fast or too slowly.
Learn more about heart health and cancer.
Thyroid problems
Radiation therapy to the neck area may cause an underactive thyroid, and you may need to take daily thyroid hormone replacement pills. Common symptoms of an underactive thyroid are fatigue, weight gain and bowel problems.
Early menopause and infertility
Some chemotherapy drugs can damage your ovaries or testicles. This might lead to early menopause in women, and reduced fertility in both men and women.
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Dr Ian Bilmon, Haematologist, Westmead Hospital and Sydney Adventist Hospital, NSW; Suzanne Basha, Consumer; Jo Cryer, Clinical Nurse Consultant Haematology, St George Hospital, NSW; Jessica Elliott, Senior Social Worker, Youth Cancer Services, Crown Princess Mary Centre Westmead, NSW; Dr Robin Gasiorowski, Haematologist, Concord and Macquarie University Hospitals, NSW; Prof Angela Hong, Radiation Oncologist, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Melanoma Institute Australia, GenesisCare, and Clinical Professor, The University of Sydney, NSW; Karen Maddock, CAR T Cell and Cell Therapy Nurse Practitioner, Westmead Hospital, NSW; Jenn Partenfelder, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council NSW; Elise Toyer, Clinical Nurse Consultant Haematology, Blacktown Hospital, NSW.
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