Disability a Growing Concern for U.S. Cancer Survivors
U.S. News & World Report By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, June 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The percentage of cancer survivors who struggle with a disability has doubled in the past 20 years, new research shows.
The fact that we are saving more lives from cancer is worth celebrating, but it also warrants a shift toward understanding and improving the quality of life for those who survive, said study co-author Dr. S.M. Qasim Hussaini. He is chief medical oncology fellow and a health systems researcher at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, in Baltimore.
Overall, our study calls for urgent action to address the burden of cancer and its treatment on physical, psychosocial and cognitive function, Hussaini said in a Hopkins news release.
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The study of more than 51,000 survivors was weighted to represent a larger population of 178.8 million people. About 3.6 million survivors had a functional limitation or disability in 1999, but that increased to 8.2 million in 2018.
