Note: M. D. Anderson cardiologists and patients who have experienced heart complications due to treatment will be available for interview in advance of the meeting. Also available for interviews are cancer survivor Anthony Herrera, former star of "As the World Turns" and other local survivors.
Newswise — With more people surviving their cancers today than ever before, not only is it vital for teams of medical specialists to work together to successfully treat a patient's cancer, but a specialized team is necessary to monitor and treat debilitating side effects that may result from lifesaving therapies. These side effects often include cardiovascular complications that result from many chemotherapy or radiation therapy regimens, drugs or other treatments.
The cardiology programs of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson and New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center - two of the largest such programs in the nation - will come together with oncologists in a joint meeting in Houston to share new information in an effort to build cooperation between the two disciplines. It is a collaboration that medical professionals and patients have been calling for in recent years, report conference organizers.
"You can't talk about cancer survivorship without talking about the importance of protecting and monitoring the heart during therapy or treating heart failure or other cardiac conditions often caused by treatment," says Daniel J. Lenihan, M.D. associate professor of cardiology at M. D. Anderson and chair of the conference. "Now that we are treating cancer as a chronic and manageable disease, it is imperative that we not sacrifice a patient's heart for successful treatment. Cardiologists want to be a part of the treatment team so we can help patients have healthy hearts long after their cancer experience and live the lives they fought so hard for."
The conference bringing together cardiologists and oncologists will cover cardiotoxicities of cancer therapies, future therapies that may produce fewer toxicities, stem cell research, heart failure and thrombosis in cancer patients, the importance of collaborations with oncologists and the prevention of long-term effects from radiation therapy.
A dinner on Thursday, Feb. 22, beginning at 6:30 p.m., will feature a patient perspective with Anthony Herrera, a lymphoma survivor who was diagnosed at the peak of his acting career.
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