We wanted to share a recent article that featured Urban Poling, entitled “Cancer survivors fighting new threat – heart disease” from the Saturday edition of the Toronto Star on January 25th 2014.
The article mentions Susan Imeson, a breast cancer survivor who found after she completed treatment that she had “an arrhythmia and congestive heart failure, after-effects of the chemotherapy.” While the article identifies that “the vast majority of patients do not develop heart disease from cancer treatment,” it acknowledges that this is a “mounting concern” that doctors and researchers are working to combat with the development of “a new medical subspecialty, cardio-oncology.”
As far as what patients can do to reduce their risk, the article recommends ensuring “that other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity, be kept under control.”
Meanwhile, Susan herself is working to combat her heart conditions by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise. In fact, a photo of Susan is featured alongside the article on the front page of the paper – and it shows her Urban Poling! We are thrilled to see Susan is managing her health with a little help from her poles and we wish her well in her journey.
