There were cancer survivors who had chest radiation therapy and they are also 2x risk of dying in the next years to come after going through a heart surgery, this is what the new study has just found out. Researchers looked at the one hundred seventy three patients who had chest radiation treatment for cancer, which is the average rate of eighteen years prior to the heart surgery. Those patients were linked to the three hundred five people who went through comparable heart surgeries, but they had no history of having a radiation therapy though.

What’s in the study?

According to the researchers, if the patient goes through the radiation therapy, the rate of dying after a major heart surgery may decrease and this is according to Dr. Desai, a professor of the medicine at the Cleveland clinic. In spite of the surgery with a low risk score, the patients who will go through a chest radiation therapy should identify some techniques in determining the patients that will best fit from the surgical intervention. There are some who are better suitable for the non-surgical procedures according to the doctor. While the radiation treatment is ongoing on kids and adults during the late 1960s, 1970s to 1980s, there is a more important role of cancer survival and the treatment may take a lot of ring in the heart.

What’s in for the survivors?

The cancer survivors are of greater risk than those who haven’t gone thru a radiation to develop an advanced coronary artery disease, valvular disease and pericardial diseases as well that will affect the surrounding structures of the heart, these conditions are candidates for a cardiac operation. While the studies have been linked between chest radiation therapy for cancer and its future risk of dying after the heart surgery, it never established a cause and effect relationship though.

What is radiation therapy?

Those who have or have had cancer must have been familiar with the radiation therapy. It is a high energy radiation that is used to kill cancer cells by damaging their DNA. This type of therapy can also damage normal and healthy cells along with the cancer cells, which means that the treatment should be carefully administered to the patient to lessen the risk of adverse effects. This radiation used for the treatment of cancer can be from a machine or it may be in the form of radioactive material that will be placed nearby the tumor cells, it may also be injected depending on the recommendation of the doctor. The patient may get a radiation therapy before, during or even after the operation, but that depends on the kind of cancer that will be treated. There are actually patients who got their dose of radiation therapy alone, while some got it along with the chemotherapy.