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

wrwoolley1
wrwoolley1 Member Posts: 39 Member
edited October 2022 in Thyroid Cancer #1

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.

Comments

  • wrwoolley1
    wrwoolley1 Member Posts: 39 Member
    #2
    Thymus irradiation.jpeg

    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
    Mushuharley1 Member Posts: 11 Member
    #3
    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
    wrwoolley1 Member Posts: 39 Member
    #4
    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

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