Childhood Cancer Facts

Many believe that only adults get cancer but contrary to popular belief children and teens get cancer too and there are certain types of cancer that usually affect children or teens more often than adults.

Every man, woman, and child’s body is made of cells when these cells start to develop abnormally and start to grow out of control, cancer happens.

Although children and teens don’t get cancer often, when they do, most of the time it can be treated and cured.

Leukemia is one of the most common cancers that children and teens develop, but it is still very rare. Leukemia affects the blood and bone marrow. A child with Leukemia produces abnormal white blood cells. Usually white blood cells fight infections in our bodies but when they grow abnormally and at a rapid rate they become cancer and crowd out the red blood cells and spread through the other parts of the body such as the liver and spleen.

Another form of cancer that children develop, but is very rare, is brain cancer. About 3,100 out of 73 million children a year develop a tumor that is cancerous.

A third type of cancer that children develop is lymphoma. This is a cancer of the lymph nodes and generally acts like a cold or flu.

As children grow into teens there is an increased risk in the development of another form of cancer called Osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is a form of bone cancer.

Causes of cancer in children generally differ from the causes of cancer in adults, which with adults is usually smoking or environmental toxins. Sometimes, although rarely children develop cancer from genetic conditions, but the most common cause of cancer in children and teens is believed to be because of changes (noninherited mutations) in the growing cells. There is no way to prevent cancer in children because it is so random. They do say that a child that has been treated for a prior cancer with either radiation or chemotherapy are at an increased risk for developing it again.

There are a few different ways that cancer can be treated. The two most common treatments for cancer in children and adult are Chemotherapy and Radiation. Chemotherapy is administered through an IV (intravenously), or orally and in some cases intrathecally, (which is into the spinal fluid). Chemotherapy is an anti-cancer medication. This helps to kill the already existing cancer in all parts of the body. Radiation is the use of powerful energy waves, similar to those used in x-rays but much more powerful. Radiation damages and destroys the cancer cells. Radiation is generally used with chemotherapy and/or surgery. Some cancers require surgery and blood or bone marrow transplants. The duration of treatment is based upon the type of cancer and where it is located in the body and the stage (severity) of the cancer.

Diagnosing and treating childhood cancer takes time and being educated is very important for both the parent and the children/teens. There are social workers available to help explain to the family what to expect and what needs to be done for the child to become healthy again and to stay healthy. With proper care and treatment about 70% of childhood cancer can be cured.