Study: Radiation for breast cancer can harm hearts

FILE - This Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2102 file photo shows a linear accelerator used to treat cancer at a hospital in Johnstown, Pa. Women treated with radiation for breast cancer are more likely to develop heart problems later, even with the lower doses used today, troubling new research suggests. The risk comes from any amount of radiation, starts five years after treatment and lasts for decades, doctors found. Patients shouldn't panic - radiation has improved cancer survival and that is the top priority, doctors say. The chance of suffering a radiation-induced heart problem is fairly small. The study appears in the Thursday, March 14, 2013 New England Journal of Medicine. (AP Photo/Tribune-Democrat, John Rucosky) THE MORNING CALL OUT; DAILY AMERICAN OUT; WJAC-TV OUTWomen treated with radiation for breast cancer are more likely to develop heart problems later, even with the lower doses used today, troubling new research suggests. The risk comes from any amount of radiation, starts five years after treatment and lasts for decades, doctors found.