Diabetes is an important issue faced by cancer survivors since it is a chronic condition that will persist long after cancer treatments have finished.
Diabetes has been found to increase the risk of a cancer diagnosis,1 and it turns out that the reverse is also true. Diabetes is a potential long-term side effect of cancer, particularly if the tumour was located in glands which play a role in the insulin pathway, such as the pancreas and the liver. The risk of diabetes is also increased in kidney, lung, breast, and blood cancer.
Available research speculates that some cancer-fighting drugs may raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, including corticosteroids, which are used in many regimens but have the unfortunate side effect of raising the risk of hyperglycemia. Additionally, some chemotherapy agents elevate blood glucose.2