On average, every hour, every day, another child is diagnosed with cancer in the U.S.* The good news is that more kids than ever are surviving. In fact, 3 out of 4 will survive longer than 10 years - a rate that’s more than doubled since the 1970s.* What happens after their battle with cancer is over? A new study followed many into adulthood, and here is what researchers found.

It was Ryan Taylor’s bout with cancer at the age of 13 that inspired him to get into the medical field. It gives him a close connection with his patients today.

“I wanted to be a part of that staff that helped me through it and I want to help kids through it and be an example for them that they can get through it, too,” says Taylor.

Ryan knows first-hand how hard that can be. In addition to the physical toll cancer takes on a child, there is a toll that comes with their treatment, too.

“We know that treatment for childhood cancer increases children’s risk for long-term difficulties, particularly because they miss a lot of school and they don’t get a chance to interact with their peers as frequently,” says Cynthia Gerhardt, PhD, with Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.

That can be very disruptive in childhood, but how does it affect these kids when they become adults? To find out, Dr. Gerhardt followed more than 100 children for nearly 10 years. Roughly half had cancer, and half did not. She measured things like grades and the ability to do cognitive tests like this. Then as adults, she looked at college and job performance. Gerhardt says she was surprised by the kids who had overcome cancer.

“We were very pleased to find that they did quite well with school and were just as likely to graduate and have a job, actually at slightly higher rates than their comparison peers,” says Gerhardt.

So despite battling cancer at a young age, many survivors do just as well, if not better than their peers.** Ryan is living proof. The year he was diagnosed, he missed nearly 200 days of school. He never repeated a grade and never fell short of his goal to get into the medical field to help others. The study also showed that despite their battles with cancer, survivors had similar IQ rates and job opportunities.** The only group the study did not include were kids who had overcome brain cancer.

*A Snapshot of Pediatric Cancer, National Cancer Institute, 2007 – retrieved from: http://planning.cancer.gov/disease/Pediatric-Snapshot.pdf

**Educational and Occupational Outcomes Among Survivors of Childhood Cancer During the Transition to Emerging Adulthood, Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, Vol. 28, No. 6, December 2007