Measuring Up - A Health Surveillance Update on Canadian Children and Youth

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Future Developments - Surveillance of Late Effects among Cancer Survivors

New and effective treatments for childhood cancer have increased the proportion of children with cancer who survive into adulthood. An estimated one in 1,000 young adults is a childhood cancer survivor.⁽²⁾ In addition to increasing the probability of survival, cancer treatment can retard both physical growth and mental maturation, depending on the specific regimen and the age of the child receiving treatment.⁽¹⁰⁾ Cancer survivors face challenges in terms of employment opportunities and acquisition of personal insurance as well as experiencing the long-term psychological effects of this serious illness. The Canadian Childhood Cancer Surveillance and Control Program, a collaboration between Health Canada's Cancer Bureau and various childhood cancer control partners, is conducting a study on the late effects of cancer and its treatment on childhood cancer survivors to characterize the extent of these effects and the specific factors leading to their occurrence.

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