The number of ‘second cancer’ patients, or individuals who develop two unrelated forms of cancer at different times in their lives is on the rise. Although the news may sound grim, doctors say the increase is not due to patients’ poor health, but rather a sign that we’re getting better at detecting and beating cancer. In the United States, nearly one in five new cases of cancer occur in individuals who have already had the disease. That's a 300 percent increase since the 1970s.
While this figure may be startling, the fact remains that no matter what type of cancer a person has had, it’s possible to develop a new, unrelated cancer. An increasing numbers of second cancer cases are a sign that advances in early detection and treatment are saving an unprecedented amount of lives. In other words, people getting second cases of cancer means that more people than ever are actually surviving…
