Can Certain Cancers Be Linked??

Chemo and radiation can cause all types of other issues, like fatal tumors. My dad who had leukemia, got squamous cell carcinoma due to years of the harsh treatments. That one was brutal, and he ended up dying from MRSA (once again, due to harsh treatments). Breast cancer often leads to bone cancer. Leukemia is a disease of the blood, so it wouldn't be caused by treatment or any links with breast cancer, though some researches say it can be environmental, so it could be a possibility So for her, it sounds like a case of just very bad luck, or cell changes from treatments and weakened immune systems and such.

If she had chemo for breast cancer, the leukemia could be linked to that (suppressed immune system, even in the longer term). I am a breast cancer survivor myself and was told by my doctors that leukemia is a possibility in the future. :-(

I'm sorry for your husband's cousin. I will say a prayer for her. I'm going for my checkup tomorrow. It's always a nerve wracking experience.

Yes and no. Cancer treatments are harsh on the body and leave the body susceptible to new forms of cancer. My understanding is that its not the cancers that are linked, but that treatments for them can lead to new forms of cancer.

My dad, who passed away 7 years ago from lung cancer, was told by his doctor, that if it goes away (if you are lucky) then it can come back as brain cancer, or liver cancer. He unfortunately did not have any time after the diagnosis. I'm sorry to hear this about your cousin.

Having had cancer automatically makes you more susceptible to other cancers-your 'terrain' is one which cais favorable to cancer. Certain cancers CAN be related though. Breast cancer survivors are more likely to have ovarian or colon cancer for example. I have not heard of a relationship with blood cancers though. I also believe that the chemo most likely caused your cousins cancer unfortunately. It is like a poison in your system. The doctors would probably not want to admit to that though.

What is most likely to happen with breast cancer though is for it to metastisize to the liver, bones, brain and lungs. When this happens it is not "lung cancer" but breast cancer IN the lung.
I really feel for your cousin. A cancer diagnosis is a truly scary and terrible thing-to have more than one is just awful.

ETA Contrary to popular belief breast cancer is only hereditary in like 8% of the cases. That was the first thing people would ask when they learned of my diagnosis- "Is it in your family?"

There are multiple inter-relationships. People who have cancer may have it in part because of defective immunosurveilllance - their immune system is not good at picking off the early solitary cancer cells. Hence they are predisposed to get other cancers as well as their original. Some cancers may be triggered by environmental carcinogens - so you can be at risk for multiple cancers. Also some chemotherapy agents are themselves carcinogenic. Current chemotherapy protocols take this into account - avoiding alkylating agents in children for example as they have many decades for a second cancer to develop.

Yes, I know a lady, who is much older, that this happened to.

Yes, it does happen. Robin Roberts who is one of the ABC anchors on Good Morning America had breast cancer and has now announced that she has a different kind of cancer. Some of the cancer treatments (chemo/radiation) may make you more susceptible to other cell changes. Good luck to your family member.

Yes my dad had a rare cancer where he was only the 26th case in the United States. Within a year he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphnoma and died within 8 months. I'm sorry as I'm sure this is not the information you wanted and I'ts never been proven that one caused the other but I think it did. Your family is in my prayers, praying for a full recovery.

I never thought about it...but I would think like others stated below it would be the treatment as the link.

My A. who is a transplant survivor is sick all the time because the anit-rejection drugs make sure she has no immune system to fight off anything. But if she doesn't take the meds she will reject the transplant. Double edged sword if you ask me.

She has to get her body in an Alkaline state, not acidic.
Cancer cannot exist in an alkaline environment.
~A.

My dad had a form of leukemia nearly 40 years ago and survived and it went into remission. They told him it would most likely come back someday, but as a different cancer.
Last year he got lung and bone cancer (don't know which came first) and he died within days of the diagnosis.

Do you know if she had radiation therapy for her breast cancer treatment? Sadly, what most doctors won't tell you up front is that Radiation therapy actually causes other types of cancers, it's on cancer.org's website:
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogen...

"Types of cancer linked to ionizing radiation:
Ionizing radiation increases the risk of certain types of cancer more than others.

The thyroid gland and bone marrow are particularly sensitive to radiation. Leukemia, a type of cancer that arises in the bone marrow, is the most common radiation-induced cancer. Leukemias may appear as early as a few years after radiation exposure.

Other types of cancer can also result from radiation exposure, although they may take longer to develop (usually at least 10 to 15 years). Some of the other cancers most strongly linked to radiation exposure in studies include:

Lung cancer
Skin cancer
Thyroid cancer
Multiple myeloma
Breast cancer
Stomach cancer
These are not necessarily the only cancer types that may be linked to radiation, however".... and the page goes on from there.

If she is open to alternative treatments, have her read the book "Vitamin C: Primal Panacea" by Dr. Thomas Levy High. High doses of Vitamin C (through IV or liposomal C) has put leukemia in remission even with people in a coma on their deathbed. There is even a recipe to make liposomal vitamin C on the web (which makes it more bioavailable for the body) that my family and I are using. This information will not be acknowledged by the medical gestapo, despite the hundreds of clinical studies proving it's efficiency and safety (absolutely no side-effects, if taken in those forms) because it is not financially beneficial to them.

Anyone interested in saving their family from ANY major illness should read this book...

Have her look at Low Dose Naltrexone (www.lowdosenaltrexone.org and www.ldnscience.org). My daughter takes it for autoimmune illnesses, but many people with cancer also take it. The low dose version of naltrexone not FDA approved because there haven't been enough clinical studies published (very little funding because there is no money in it for the pharmaceutical companies), but people report great results with very few side effects and the side effects are minimal. Insurance won't cover the cost of this medication, but it only costs around $15-20/month (unlike the $1500+ medications my daughter was taking). I think it is safe to take with chemo, but I am not an expert on LDN and cancer, so she'd have to read up on it and find a doctor willing to prescribe it. I hope she bounces back quickly from her latest diagnosis.