Alexandra Wilson was just 4 when she was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer affecting blood and blood marrow. Eleven years after completing treatment at Children's Medical Center Dallas she experienced heart abnormalities as a result of her chemotherapy. The sophomore at UT Dallas now receives her follow-up treatment at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

"My doctors expected me to have complications because of the chemotherapy," said Ms. Wilson. "They were unsure, however, of when the symptoms would start to show. Luckily I was enrolled in the After the Cancer Experience program [ACE], which allowed for my heart to be monitored through the years. Consequently, when the symptoms did appear, I was placed on a new treatment plan and now receive adult care at UT Southwestern from physicians who are familiar with my medical background."

The ACE program, established in 1989, was the first of its kind in North Texas to provide long-term monitoring for survivors of childhood cancer. Still the largest such program in the area, ACE is a member of the Childhood Cancer Survivors Study (CCSS), the leading consortium in late-effects research. Numerous studies from the CCSS have determined the frequency of late effects and identified risk factors for late effects in childhood-cancer survivors…