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American Morning

House Call: Cancer Treatment Can Cause Learning Problems for Children

Aired January 09, 2003 - 07:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we turn to a story that's getting a lot of attention. It's about children who have survived their battles with cancer, and what they face once that disease is gone. Researchers are learning that cancer treatments can have lasting side effects.
Making a "House Call" from Atlanta to examine that, and more of the day's health news, is Sanjay Gupta.

So, Sanjay, it's heartbreaking to hear some of these stories of how many problems these kids are having in the classroom.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, and really, you know, if you look at the whole thing, there is some really some stark news for all of the 250,000 childhood cancer survivors in this country. You know, doctors are able to effectively treat many cancers in children and teenagers. That's because of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. But those same effective therapies may be contributing, as you mentioned, Paula, to some other life-long problems.

In addition to physical elements, including stunted growth, thyroid, kidney, heart and lung problems, researchers, as you mentioned, found that as many as 90 percent of children who had received radiation for brain tumors, for instance, had life-long learning impairments.

What researchers are saying, they point to the need for more directed radiation, more targeted chemotherapy protocols, and thankfully, those are already in development.

Paula, another story. We all know to follow doctor's orders. But what if you're not given any? Tobacco and alcohol are associated with the first and third leading causes of avoidable death in the United States. Research published in the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine," they evaluated survey data and found that only 70 percent of smokers who had gone for a routine checkup in the past year had actually be advised to quit, and only 23 percent of binge drinkers were advised to stop by their health care professionals.

Interestingly, women were more likely than men to be told to quit smoking, whereas doctors spoke to men more then women about drinking. Clearly, doctors need to do better on both fronts.

Speaking of drinking, Paula, I've got a story coming up later in the show about drinking and about the possible benefits of drinking on your heart. That's sort of an interesting story, and we'll tell you about it a little later -- Paula.

ZAHN: Yes, but I'm not going to let you off the hook here. Can you explain to me what a doctor's rationale would be for not telling a smoker to quit smoking?

GUPTA: Well, I think that, you know, actually the numbers are a lot higher than they used to be. You know, 70 percent is better than it used to be. I think a lot of doctors, they sort of target in on whatever the specific complaint is that a patient shows up for. And the smoking, while it is, you know, an obvious one and patients often get asked about it, they're often not counseled on how to quit. And I think that's where the --- what the data is suggesting.

Doctors clearly need to do better about that. I don't think there's a good rationale. I think doctors need to hear this sort of story, hear that data, and say we need to do better about that.

ZAHN: We don't often hear doctors say that, do we, Sanjay?

GUPTA: You always get me to say that, Paula.

ZAHN: No, I'm not making you say that. I think you've said that on your own today.

GUPTA: No, I think it's true. I think it's absolutely -- doctors need to do better in terms of alcohol and smoking, there's no question about it. Those are both very preventable causes of associated deaths, and we could do better with that.

ZAHN: Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. See you in the next hour.

GUPTA: See you in a little bit, yes.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.




for Children>


Aired January 9, 2003 - 07:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we turn to a story that's getting a lot of attention. It's about children who have survived their battles with cancer, and what they face once that disease is gone. Researchers are learning that cancer treatments can have lasting side effects.
Making a "House Call" from Atlanta to examine that, and more of the day's health news, is Sanjay Gupta.

So, Sanjay, it's heartbreaking to hear some of these stories of how many problems these kids are having in the classroom.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, and really, you know, if you look at the whole thing, there is some really some stark news for all of the 250,000 childhood cancer survivors in this country. You know, doctors are able to effectively treat many cancers in children and teenagers. That's because of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. But those same effective therapies may be contributing, as you mentioned, Paula, to some other life-long problems.

In addition to physical elements, including stunted growth, thyroid, kidney, heart and lung problems, researchers, as you mentioned, found that as many as 90 percent of children who had received radiation for brain tumors, for instance, had life-long learning impairments.

What researchers are saying, they point to the need for more directed radiation, more targeted chemotherapy protocols, and thankfully, those are already in development.

Paula, another story. We all know to follow doctor's orders. But what if you're not given any? Tobacco and alcohol are associated with the first and third leading causes of avoidable death in the United States. Research published in the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine," they evaluated survey data and found that only 70 percent of smokers who had gone for a routine checkup in the past year had actually be advised to quit, and only 23 percent of binge drinkers were advised to stop by their health care professionals.

Interestingly, women were more likely than men to be told to quit smoking, whereas doctors spoke to men more then women about drinking. Clearly, doctors need to do better on both fronts.

Speaking of drinking, Paula, I've got a story coming up later in the show about drinking and about the possible benefits of drinking on your heart. That's sort of an interesting story, and we'll tell you about it a little later -- Paula.

ZAHN: Yes, but I'm not going to let you off the hook here. Can you explain to me what a doctor's rationale would be for not telling a smoker to quit smoking?

GUPTA: Well, I think that, you know, actually the numbers are a lot higher than they used to be. You know, 70 percent is better than it used to be. I think a lot of doctors, they sort of target in on whatever the specific complaint is that a patient shows up for. And the smoking, while it is, you know, an obvious one and patients often get asked about it, they're often not counseled on how to quit. And I think that's where the --- what the data is suggesting.

Doctors clearly need to do better about that. I don't think there's a good rationale. I think doctors need to hear this sort of story, hear that data, and say we need to do better about that.

ZAHN: We don't often hear doctors say that, do we, Sanjay?

GUPTA: You always get me to say that, Paula.

ZAHN: No, I'm not making you say that. I think you've said that on your own today.

GUPTA: No, I think it's true. I think it's absolutely -- doctors need to do better in terms of alcohol and smoking, there's no question about it. Those are both very preventable causes of associated deaths, and we could do better with that.

ZAHN: Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. See you in the next hour.

GUPTA: See you in a little bit, yes.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.




for Children>