Some kid cancer survivors think of suicide

BOSTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- More than 7 percent of childhood cancer survivors say they had suicidal thoughts, U.S. researchers found.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found brain and central nervous system cancer survivors were the most likely to experience suicidal thoughts -- 10.6 percent -- while survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were the least likely -- 6.7 percent. The study found 4.5 percent of the control group had suicidal thoughts.

"Although the vast majority of survivors reported no suicidal ideation, the significant minority of survivors with thoughts of suicide is a serious concern," lead author Christopher Recklitis of the Perini Family Survivors' Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said in a statement.

The study findings are an important reminder to clinicians cancer survivors with significant physical health problems may also have significant emotional problems.

"While our healthcare system and our culture drive us to treat physical and emotional suffering very differently, clearly we need an integrated approach to helping survivors with their physical health problems and the emotional distress that can be associated with them," Recklitis said.