Long-term cardiac and pulmonary complications in cancer care

Advances in cancer treatment are responsible for longer overall survival in patients with cancer. As a result of high-dose intensity and multimodal treatment regimens, these individuals are at risk for long-term complications. The heart and lungs are common sites of cancer recurrence as well as targets of damage from radiation and chemotherapy. Primary care nurse practitioners need to be aware of these late complications and consider these in a differential diagnosis when a patient presents with cardiac and pulmonary problems and has a history of cancer.