The Psychological Status of Survivors of Childhood/Adolescent Hodgkin's Disease

To assess psychosocial late effects of childhood/adolescent cancer, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 subjects who had achieved complete remission from Hodgkin's disease and completed therapy at least five years previously. Mean ages were 12.8 years at diagnosis and 24.7 years at interview. Side effects of treatment were most often mentioned as the "worst thing" about having had Hodgkin's disease. Although subjects had missed a mean of six months of school, and 40% had reported unpleasant school experiences, their educational levels exceeded those expected in sex-, age-, and state-matched populations. Almost all subjects said that they had benefited in some way from the experience of having cancer. In contrast to the female subjects, male subjects expressed little interest in having their reproductive status assessed. Current concerns included discrimination in employment or in obtaining life or health insurance.