Childhood cancers are common

Although not common, childhood cancer is an obsession that no one wants to talk about. Do you know what types of cancer are most common in pediatric patients?

Cancer is a common disease in the elderly. No one denied that. However, every day you read the newspaper, you still often see cancer patients even a few months old. That is to say, dangerous illness does not leave anyone.

Childhood cancers are rare, and only specially trained doctors have the knowledge and experience to properly treat them. If you are lucky enough to meet a good doctor, the child will not only be cured, but also have a good quality of life, the disease will almost not recur in adulthood.

Learn about the types of cancers in children to timely recognize and correct treatment:

Bone cancer

This is a very dangerous disease, difficult to treat and potentially fatal. Osteosarcoma and Sarcoma Ewing are the two most common types of bone cancers , occurring in boys more than girls. Malignant tumors usually appear around the knee, arm bone and leg (for Osteosarcoma) or pelvis, thigh, upper arm, and rib (for Sarcoma Ewing).

The most common ages of bone cancer are 12–25 years old. The cause of this disease may be genetic genes, retinoblastoma of the eye or exposure, exposure to radiation for a long time ...

Symptoms of bone cancer in children are not clear, so it is easy to be mistaken for other diseases. Pain in the bones is the first sign that the severity of pain gradually increases and pain continues for a long time. Sometimes, the patient has symptoms of painful swelling and redness in the area of ​​the bone with the tumor.

If found early and treated properly, patients with bone cancer can live for 5 years (for tumors that have not metastasized).

Brain cancer

Brain cancer (or brain tumor) accounts for about 15% of all childhood cancers and is the second most common cancer that occurs in young children. Because the brain is the organ that coordinates daily activities such as learning, memory, the senses (hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste), emotions, blood vessels ..., the symptoms of The brain tumor is quite obvious. If your child experiences frequent headaches, vomiting, mood changes, or problems with vision or language, seek immediate medical attention.

Treatment of brain cancer in children is more complex than in other types of cancer. It is not always possible to surgically remove the tumor, because it easily affects other important parts of the brain. The prognosis of a brain tumor depends not only on the type of tumor, its severity or size, but also on its location in the brain. The rate of children surviving more than 5 years is 40–80%.

Leukemia (blood cancer)

Ranked third in the top most common childhood cancers, leukemia is a cancer where abnormal white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. In other words, they grow out of control, eventually spilling out of the bone marrow to invade the blood vessels. In addition, they do not perform the normal function of white blood cells but increasingly invade other cells (including normal white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets).

Symptoms of leukemia are pale skin, pale, back pain, legs, easy bruising, unusual bleeding, prolonged fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, night sweats, painless lymph node development. in the neck, armpits or other parts of the body. Sadly, patients with leukemia have only about 40% of the survival rate.

Liver Cancer

Beginning in the liver, cancer cells grow out of control. They slowly invade the blood vessels and lymph nodes, spread to other parts of the body and from there continue to grow, hindering that organ's normal functions. There are two common types of liver cancer in children, hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatoblastoma, in which hepatocellular carcinoma is more severe.

Originally known as the "silent killer", liver cancer has less obvious symptoms in its early stages. When you see bloating, the disease is in a late stage. Some signs for you to recognize are that children often have pain in the liver area, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue , jaundice, nausea, early puberty in boys ...

Lymphoma (lymphoma)

This type of cancer arises in the lymphatic system (lymphatic system). This is the system that connects the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, groin to the spleen, thymus, tonsils, stomach, and small intestine. When a malignant tumor appears in one part of the lymphatic system, it slowly spreads throughout the rest before being detected.

Lymphoma usually presents with abdominal pain, persistent fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, and painless lymphadenopathy. It is common in the 10–20 year old group with a cure rate of 60%.

Neuroblastoma

If you find that your child is still young but has symptoms of back pain, bone pain, panda eye pain ... plus an abnormally large belly, you should immediately take your child to a doctor, as it may be a sign of the disease. Neuroblastoma in children.

Neuroblastoma usually begins in the adrenal glands, the tiny glands at the top of each kidney. Sometimes it begins in the chest, in nerve tissue near the spine in the neck or spinal cord. The disease is more common in children under 5 years old (about 2/3) and is usually found late, when the neuroblastoma has spread outside the original site. This disease has a relatively low prognosis of cure, only 20%.

Retinoblastoma

Usually occurring in children under 5 years of age, retinoblastoma originates with a malignant tumor in the retinal cell layer of the eye. It can occur in one or both eyes but not spread to other parts. The current challenge for doctors treating this disease is to prevent blindness.

The hallmark of the disease is white pupil, squint, red swelling, bulging eyes, reduced vision ... 80–90% of children with retinoblastoma will be cured.

Kidney cancer

This is the primary cancer, accounting for 5% of all childhood cancers. The tumor grows from the center or from a kidney, grows very rapidly (in many cases, most of the abdomen) and has a solid sheath.

About 1–2% of children with kidney cancer are inherited. The manifestation of the disease is a tumor in the abdomen with digestive disorders, urinary tract infections, increased blood pressure, fatigue does not go away with fever ...

Spinal cancer

This type of cancer can develop from a tumor found in different areas of the spinal cord. There are also cases where it results from the spread of malignant cells from other parts of the body.

Symptoms of spinal cord cancer vary widely depending on the location of the tumor, the speed of its development, and the age of the child. Some signs that are easy to recognize are back pain (along from back to arm or leg), change in bowel habits, difficulty walking. If treated promptly, patients can live as normal people or prolong life to several decades.