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St. Jude LIFE Evaluation

When you take part in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (St. Jude LIFE), you help childhood cancer survivors around the world and learn more about your own health.

St. Jude LIFE’s purpose is to learn about the health of childhood cancer survivors and how to reduce late effects of childhood cancer treatment. Late effects are conditions that happen months or years after treatment is over.

Participants visit St. Jude for tests and screenings. You also complete several surveys about your health. The visit takes about 3–4 days.

St. Jude covers costs of the visit. This includes travel, hotel, and food. If you are younger than age 18 or require an adult to be with you, St. Jude will also pay for their travel and hotel.

As a participant, you help health care providers and researchers find ways to improve the health of childhood cancer survivors. Health care providers use the information from the St. Jude LIFE study to:

  • Make recommendations for treatment and follow-up of future patients
  • Adjust treatments to lower the risk of late effects
  • Suggest certain screening tests to catch problems early and lifestyle choices to help childhood cancer survivors stay healthy

St. Jude LIFE participants come back about every 5 years. You may return more often if you are invited to take part in other research studies.

Preparing for Your Visit

Several weeks before your visit you will receive a packet of information.  It includes surveys and consent forms. You should complete them and mail them back in the included envelope 4–5 weeks before your St. Jude visit. Use the link below to find out how to prepare for your St. Jude LIFE visit

What Happens During a St. Jude LIFE Visit

The St. Jude LIFE visit begins with meeting a member of the St Jude LIFE research team. They will explain what will happen during your visit. They will go over consent forms and have you sign them if you did not do that before you arrived. Please ask any questions you may have.

After this visit, you will have different health evaluations. The staff will explain them. Please ask any questions you may have.

You can choose not to take part in any part of the evaluation visit. Everything is voluntary.

Appointments and evaluations include:

  • Consent discussion and study paperwork
  • Health evaluation
  • Blood and urine tests
  • Heart and lung function tests
  • Thinking skills exams
  • Hearing test
  • Eye exam
  • Bone density test
Patients at a table

Consent and study paperwork

A patient receiving a health evaluation

Health evaluation

You may have other tests depending on what cancer treatment you had as a child and what studies you are in. Many participants take part in more than one St. Jude LIFE–related study. These are called ancillary studies.

Other tests may include:

  • Mammograms and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • Colonoscopy
  • Fertility tests
  • Certain eye exams

Participants sometimes go to another clinic in the Memphis area for these tests. St. Jude provides transportation to and from these clinics.

You get test results in your MyChart app. The staff will also discuss them. Please ask any questions you may have about the tests or results.

A patient doing a thinking skills exam

Thinking skills exam

A patient receiving a bone density test

Bone density test

Human Performance Lab

You will visit the Human Performance Lab at St. Jude for physical fitness and function tests.

This part of the visit involves 2 sets of tests. They may happen on 2 different days.

The functional assessment includes:

  • Body measurements (waist, hips, head, neck, body fat)
  • Flexibility, strength, and balance tests
  • Daily living task tests (18 and older) – This may include an eating simulation, placing a book on a shelf, and putting on a coat.
  • Gross and fine motor skills tests (Younger than 18) – Activities may include dribbling a ball or hopping on one foot.
  • Walking test to measure heart and lung function

You will also have a stress test on a treadmill or exercise bike. You will wear devices to measure different body functions.

If you use a wheelchair or cannot use a treadmill or bicycle for any reason, you will do your stress test with a device called an arm ergometer.

Do not worry if you cannot do everything or if you feel out of shape. That is important to know too. You do not have to exercise regularly or be in top physical condition to take part. St. Jude LIFE wants to get an accurate picture of the health of childhood cancer survivors.

A patient receiving a functional assessment

HP Lab functional assessment

A patient on a treadmill

HP Lab stress test

A patient receiving a functional assessment

Pulmonary function assessment

A patient receiving a functional assessment

Cardiopulmonary testing

Benefits of taking part in St. Jude LIFE

There are several benefits of taking part in the St. Jude LIFE study:

  • By taking part in St. Jude LIFE, you help researchers learn more about late effects of cancer treatment. They use this information to help childhood cancer survivors.
  • You get a complete health checkup and counseling about health conditions that may happen after cancer treatment.
  • If tests show you have health problems, the St. Jude LIFE team will help you find medical care in your community. A clinical social worker will make sure you have a follow-up plan and connect you with resources if you need them.
A patient walking with a care team member

A benefit of taking part in St. Jude LIFE is you get a complete health checkup and counseling about health conditions that may happen after cancer treatment.

Key points about the St. Jude LIFE evaluation visit

  • The St. Jude LIFE visit takes 3–4 days. St. Jude covers the costs of tests, travel, lodging, and food. Participants are also paid for each day they are at St. Jude for the study.
  • The visit includes health exams and physical function tests.
  • Information from St. Jude LIFE helps health care providers make recommendations about future treatment for children  with cancer and follow-up for childhood cancer survivors.
  • If tests show health problems, the St. Jude LIFE team will help you find health care in your community.

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