Common Childhood Cancers

Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in a human’s body. It is not unheard of to hear that many of the cases frequently reported about the sudden rise in the number of patients that are diagnosed with the disease. There are over 100 types of cancer which are known to affect people in different parts of the body. Some of the examples include:

1.Breast cancer

2.Lung cancer

3.Skin cancer

4.Colon cancer

5.Prostate cancer

6.Lymphoma

The most suitable way to treating this disease is by use of chemotherapy that has been the most sort out a medicinal way to curbing the spread or to cure a person. Other methods include the used of radiation or heading out to surgery if any of the above methods do not work.

The disease not only affects adults only but also children. Cells in our bodies are known to divide and replace themselves in a controlled way but when most of the cells start multiplying in an uncontrollable way, a tumor gets formed which is a mass composed of a cluster of these abnormal cells. It should be noted that most of the cancer cells are known to form tumors but not all tumors found in the body are cancerous.

Cancer is a serious ailment that is known and recognized all over the globe as a human with which many cancer specialists around the globe often known as oncologists are making tremendous achievements in the advances they continue to do every year to come up with ways they can prevent the spreading of the disease and at the same time treat patients who are said to be ailing from the same condition.

The cancer cells need to be diagnosed earlier for one to become treated and have a better chance of survival. Many of the types listed above can be treated and detected in common routine activities often through self-examination. Other symptoms are usually screened for the identification of symptoms before they become serious.

Some of the common cancers that develop in children include:

Leukemia

It is cancer of the bone marrow and blood that mostly affects children. Some of the most common types include lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia which are known to cause joint pain, skin bleeding, fever, pale skin, and even weight loss. Acute leukemia is known to spread quickly and thus many of the patients have to undergo scheduled chemotherapy to try and treat the disease.

Brain and Spinal cord tumors

Occupy a large percentage of the cancers in children making about 26%. Tumors in the brain consist of many types to which require different ways to how each requires treatment. Most of a child’s brain tumor starts in the lower part of the brain causing severe headaches, nausea, blurred vision, seizures, trouble walking or handling of objects and various other symptoms. Spinal cord tumors are less common compared with brain tumors as seen in both adults and children.

Neuroblastoma

It is an early form of cancer that develops at an early stage often found in nerve cells in the embryo or fetus. They are known to account for about 6% of the cancers that are found in children to which early symptoms show a swelling or a lump in the belly. Other symptoms that are noticeable include pain, fever, pain, poor appetite in children and various other symptoms.

Bone cancer

It is a common type of cancer that is known to affect children. It mostly occurs in older children and teenagers with which they develop at any age. They account to 3% of cancer that affects children and are mostly in two main types:

a. Osteosarcoma

Which is a common teen cancer developing in areas where bones grow quickly such as the near ends of long bones in the arm or legs.

b. Ewing sarcoma

It is a less common type of bone cancer that affects children causing pain and swelling often in young teens. It commonly starts in the pelvic areas or around the chest walls such as the ribs or shoulders.