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Cancer Diagnosis May Tax Physical, Mental Health  

A cancer diagnosis can take a physical and mental toll in the years after treatment, a new study says.

Bryce B. Reeve of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and a team of researchers looked at the health-related quality of life of 1,432 people 65 years of age or older who were diagnosed with cancer of the prostate, breast, bladder or kidney, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer or non-Hodgkin lymphoma between 1998 and 2003. Similar data was examined for 7,160 similar people without cancer.

Up to two years after diagnosis, those with cancer reported decreased physical health compared with those of the same age who did not have cancer, the researchers found. People with prostate, colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer reported decreased mental health compared with people without cancer, they noted.

"We expect this study to provide a benchmark for capturing the burden of cancer on health-related quality of life and an evidence base for future research and clinical interventions aimed at understanding and remediating these effects," Reeve's team wrote.

The study appears in the June 9 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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