Heat Waves and Cancer: How Temperature Change Impacts Cancer Care

As global temperatures continue to rise, the effects of extreme heat are becoming a major concern for human health. While the links between heat waves and heart or respiratory conditions are well-known, researchers are now highlighting a critical, often overlooked connection: how rising temperatures and extreme heat impact cancer care, patient survival, and healthcare delivery.

Understanding how high temperatures affect the body during cancer treatment helps patients, families, and caregivers take timely steps to protect health and maintain safety throughout the warmer months. 

To cool down, the body dilates blood vessels near the skin and increases sweating. In cancer patients, who may already experience fatigue, or side effects from treatments, this extra effort can quickly lead to dehydration. 

How extreme heat impacts lung health 

Breathing hot, polluted air places physical stress on the body, especially for people with chronic conditions or cancer.

• High temperatures can worsen feelings of shortness of breath (dyspnea), making routine daily tasks difficult and uncomfortable.

• Heat waves often go hand in hand with poor air movement and elevated ground-level pollutants, such as particulate matter PM2.5 and ozone. Long-term exposure to heat-amplified air pollution from fossil fuels and wildfires is strongly linked to an increased risk of developing lung cancer.

Impact of heat waves on palliative care and treatment outcomes

Studies show that extreme temperatures can directly influence clinical outcomes and survival for patients receiving palliative care.

For instance, there is a documented shorter survival in warmer months. An increase in mean monthly temperature is linked with an 8.1% increase in mortality for patients passing within their first week of palliative care.

Extreme heat events, hurricanes, and severe weather can cause widespread power outages, close clinics, and delay essential treatments like radiation therapy or surgery. These interruptions in care can worsen overall prognosis and long-term health outcomes.

Prevention and health protection measures

If you have cancer, protecting yourself  during heat waves requires proactive planning indoors, outdoors, and within medical routines.

Keeping cool indoors

• Use active cooling: Keep living spaces air-conditioned whenever possible. If air conditioning is unavailable, use electric fans or cool, damp cloths on the skin to ease body temperature and help you breathe easier.

• Maintain hydration: Ensure you stay hydrated with water and clear fluids. Talk to your care team about your fluid needs and if there is anything you need to watch for. This can help avoid dehydration and reduce strain on your heart.

• Avoid unnecessary heat exposure: Keep blinds or curtains drawn during peak heat hours. Avoid using heat-generating appliances like ovens indoors. 

Navigating outdoor activities and medical visits

• Limit peak hour exposure: Avoid outdoor travel or physical exertion during the hottest parts of the day. This is typically between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

• Plan around disruptions: Work with your oncology team to establish a backup plan for appointments or prescription refills in case severe weather or heat-related power outages affect your local clinic.

• Watch for warning signs: Seek prompt medical care if you have signs of heat exhaustion, severe dehydration, sudden confusion, fever, or worsening shortness of breath.

By recognizing how extreme heat can strain the lungs and body and knowing how to stay cool, patients and caregivers can reduce health risks and ensure continuous, safe care throughout the hottest times of the year.

Sources: 

• New study reveals how extreme heat shapes cancer care decisions

• Impact of Heatwaves on Cancer Care Delivery: Potential Mechanisms, Health Equity Concerns, and Adaptation Strategies

• ‘When it comes to heat, I retreat’: heat impacts and adaptation practices among people with cancer

• Effects of environmental temperature on mortality in cancer patients in palliative care

• Impacts of climate change on cancer risk, clinical outcomes, and care delivery: A scoping review