Think that surviving cancer puts you in the clear for getting diagnosed with other forms of the disease? Think again.

Cancer risk is significantly higher among cancer survivors. As many as 14 percent of all cancers diagnosed are second cancers that develop among cancer survivors. That is, they’re completely new cancers and not recurrences of the original cancer.

Arti Hurria urges better screening guidelines for cancer survivors. (Photo by p.cunningham) 

According to City of Hope’s Arti Hurria, M.D., and Ari M. VanderWalde, M.D., formerly of City of Hope and now at Amgen, these cancers happen most often among people diagnosed with their first cancer between ages 50 and 69. But they can happen among those in their 70s and beyond, too.

“The increased risk for these cancers comes from a variety of factors,” said Hurria, director of the Cancer and Aging Research Program at City of Hope. “These include the long-term effects of therapeutic radiation and chemotherapy, genetic factors and hormones.  Lifestyle factors that increase risk for one cancer, such as diet and obesity, often increase risk for others, as well.”

Hurria and VanderWalde urge primary care physicians and geriatricians to document their patients’ cancer and treatment history. While doctors have solid guidelines for screening cancer survivors at high risk of developing breast cancer, recommendations are incomplete for survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma and breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancers, they said.

“We need better guidelines for screening among older adult survivors,” Hurria said. “But for now, the take-home message for older survivors is to make sure that you have shared all the details of your cancer experience, including your medications and course of treatment, with the physician who is coordinating your everyday care so that you can confidently focus on prevention and early detection of any future cancer.”