Cancer, premature menopause linked (Examiner.com, 4 July)

Women who survived cancer during childhood are at risk of premature menopause, researchers reported this month. Some cancer treatments can immediately harm girls' reproductive development. But with most childhood cancer patients now surviving, a bigger question is whether girls whose ovaries seemed OK at first actually have lingering damage that will trigger menopause before age 40. If so, the risk could affect their family planning as well as their health in middle age, because early menopause can trigger thinning bones and other problems.

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