Q: Cancers in senior citizens from thymus radiation as babies?

wrwoolley1

It's well known that those of us who misguidedly had their thymus glands irradiated as babies developed thyroid cancer in early adulthood. Now that I'm 69, I'd like to consider how many of us have developed other cancers in the area of the neck, chest, mouth, etc., as senior citizens. I've seen a few people, in this forum, who have mentioned later-life cancers, presumably related to childhood radiation, but I'd like to take a deeper dive into this topic. I've had a few incidences of skin cancer on my upper chest, over the past few years. Now I'm wondering what other cancers we should be on the lookout for.

wrwoolley1

I've been researching the misguided irradiation treatment of babies for "enlarged" thymus glands in the 1940s and '50s. I came across this photo of a baby undergoing the procedure, which I endured in 1953. Was this you, too?

Mushuharley1

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/325742/q-cancers-in-senior-citizens-from-thymus-radiation-as-babies

me too. I had it near Detroit at 18 months. In my early 20s starting having issues. Difficulty swallowing. Had 3 nodules and half my thyroid removed. Not long couple years same thing and to have the other side out. Now in my 60s. Was having health issues and about 4 to 5 CTs later for kidney cancer. Well guess what's growing again? More nodules in my parathyroid glands! Nobody will listed & I keep gettin these scans. I wish there was research on us

wrwoolley1

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1713178#Comment_1713178

Sorry to hear about your cancer history. Yes, more research would be helpful, but I suspect there's not much funding available in regard to a group of people who are near the end of their lives. The misguided infant thymus radiation treatments were largely discontinued in the '60s, I believe, so those of us who had it done will be gone soon. Any research done at this point wouldn't come with any long-term benefits, so we're left to do our own research "on the fly." Meanwhile, scans pose another danger. There are numerous online articles warning about the risks of radiation in scans and they're being called for with greater frequency all the time. (One link, below.) Naturally, doctors make assurances about how they use "safe" levels of radiation... but I imagine my parents heard the same assurances when my thymus was getting blasted, setting me up for cancer of the thyroid and who-knows-what-else as the winter of my life unfolds. Anyway, be vigilant. Stay on top of your health and question the necessity of every scan, x-ray, contrast dye, etc. https://www.health.harvard.edu/cancer/radiation-risk-from-medical-imaging

wrwoolley1

I'm 72 now and my recent blood tests have shown signs of possible leukemia. It is well documented that radiation—including that from diagnostic tests and medical treatments, such as I and thousands of others infants underwent in the 1940s and '50s—can lead to leukemia, over time. I'm wondering if anyone else who had considerable radiation-based tests and treatments done to them, as children decades ago, have been diagnosed with leukemia in later life. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Mushuharley1

hi

I'm 69 I'm also one of this group of infant radiation for my thymus gland. I'm having my 3rd surgery for this nightmare. I had 2 for my thyroid after the second one in the 90s. I was told they got it all. It had caused me trouble swallowing that time. Fast forward to 2021 I was diagnosed with Kidney cancer. With CT scans every 3 months. After a yea of getting scans nodules started popping up on my parathyroid glads. I scheduled to have all 4 out May 27th. They will take half of one and transplant in my stem. What is so frustrating my Cancer Md hadn't heard of this! Happened in the 50s for me. This is the gift that keeps giving😌

wrwoolley1

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1722542#Comment_1722542

Sorry to hear about all your issues. One of the interesting parts of stories like ours is that we, along with thousands of other people who had similar procedures done as infants, are writing medical history with every day we live and every cancer diagnosis we get. There should be some centralized place online where such information can be gathered and formally reviewed, but there are, I think, at least two obvious reasons why there isn't. 1. Since the practice of radiating infants' thymus glands, once mistakenly considered enlarged, is no longer happening, we're just going to die off and that horrific chapter of medical history will be closed. 2. Those in the medical field don't want to dwell on their profession's egregious error in diagnosing and treating an "illness" that adversely affected tens (perhaps hundreds) of thousands of infant patients and continues to result in cancers well into senior citizenry. I was fortunate that my parents told me I'd had my "enlarged" thymus radiated and saw a "60 Minutes" TV show in 1977 that informed viewers about the likelihood of that procedure causing thyroid cancer. I wonder how many people were, and might still remain, unaware that they had that done. To this day, I feel I've lived as long as I have and remained in fairly good health largely despite, not because of, over-reaching and over-indulgent practitioners of Western medicine.