How important is long term follow-up care?
I think that long term follow up should be continued for as long as the group that provided care for your child is able to make contact with you. Many issues need to be considered when looking at the long term consequences of cancer treatment. Altered bone growth is one of the most common. Cardiopulmonary toxicity can be an issue, too. Most children with neuroblastoma are familiar with adriamycin. Effects from this anthracycline can be seen many years later. Children treated for cancer as a child are also at a somewhat higher risk of secondary malignancies than the general population.
