There are many ways that can be used to treat cancer, ranging from the provision of drugs to therapy. The most commonly used is radiation and chemotherapy. But be careful, breast cancer patients who undergo radiation risk of developing heart disease.
A recent study found an association between breast cancer treatment and heart disease. In a report published the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from the University of Oxford examined data on more than 2,000 women who underwent radiation therapy in Denmark and Sweden.
The results found that radiation can lead to heart disease risk, but the risk is still relatively small. Researchers can predict a patient's risk of heart disease due to radiation. The risk can be measured as the dose of radiation given to prevent cancer recurrence.
"I think these findings are just the tip of the iceberg. Radiation can cause other diseases related to the heart, such as arrhythmia, valve problems and stroke-related vascular disease," said Dr. Javid Moslehi, deputy director of cardio-oncology program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The study also included women who drank the powerful chemotherapy drugs that are known to damage the liver. Many breast cancer patients with tumors that have spread to the lymph nodes undergoing radiation and taking medication. This method is thought to increase the risk of heart disease.
However, researchers say that patients do not need to panic. This radiation improves survival in cancer patients and it is a top priority. Likely to suffer heart disease due to radiation is quite small. There are many things that can be done to reduce the risk to maintain your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure.
"This is not the voice of hazards research, but should be used to estimate the risk of radiation to the heart and strive to reduce the dose," said the researcher, Dr. Candace Correa as reported Counsel and heal, Thursday (14/03/2013).