I recall a time when the diagnosis of breast cancer was pretty much a death sentence to millions of women. In those days, they often faced disfiguring surgery that sometimes worked but more than often would not rid the body of the deadly cancer cells that migrated to other areas. Far too many moms, grandmoms, wives and sisters succumbed early to the ravages of breast cancer.

Then researchers developed additional treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. Yes, these treatments helped many women survive their breast cancer, but there was a cost. Generally, that cost comes with the intense side effects of the treatment, but in the end, the cancer can be eliminated and extend the lives of millions of women. For the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, this is a good thing, even though breast cancer is still the second most common source of cancer related deaths among women.

This is definitely a good thing, but like so many other good things, surviving breast cancer appears to come at another cost as reported:

In the years following breast cancer treatment, women are at increased risk of death from other cancers, heart disease, stroke and infections, a new analysis finds.

Based on US data for more than 750,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer and followed for an average of 15 years, researchers found that breast cancer and other cancers are the most common cause of death for the first decade, followed by heart disease and stroke.

After 10 years, the risk of death from heart diseases remains high and is elevated compared to women in the general population, the researchers report in the journal Cancer. 

They urge physicians to counsel breast cancer survivors about these findings so patients can take care of their overall health.

‘Survival rates for patients with breast cancer have improved significantly in the last four decades. With better survival rates, more patients are dying from non-cancer-related causes,’ said study co-author D Muneer Al-Husseini of Ascension St John Hospital in Detroit, Michigan.

The study involved examining the records of 754,270 women who have survived breast cancer here in the United States. They looked at all non-cancer related deaths along with looking at the ethnicity, age and the stage of cancer at the time of treatment. They found that the majority of patients were over the age of 50, white, married and their breast cancer was localized. Just over 180,000 of the breast cancer survivors died from non-cancer related issues within 15 years of beating their breast cancer.

The non-cancer death rate climbed to 46% for those averaging 73 years of age. Additionally, they only survived 1-5 years after beating their cancer.

Surviving breast cancer has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, strokes and brain hemorrhages.

Yes, it’s great to get over the major hurdle of having breast cancer, but women have to understand that more hurdles could be ahead and they need to do whatever possible to help clear those future hurdles.