What is Children’s Cancer?
Children’s Cancer is not common, with roughly 1,900 children (aged 0 – 14 years) diagnosed with a form of childhood cancer each year. This number is inclusive of non-cancerous (benign) brain tumours. Although there are several types of cancer children can be diagnosed with, the most common types are acute leukaemias and cancers of the brain and spinal cord.
Symptoms of Children’s Cancer may include:
Other childhood illnesses can have very similar symptoms to cancer, so it is helpful to remember that the symptoms listed below are not usually cancer. These symptoms should be reported to your child’s doctor for further review and potential investigation:
- they’re unable to wee or have blood in their wee
- an unexplained lump, firmness or swelling anywhere in the body
- tummy (abdominal) pain or swelling that doesn’t go away
- back or bony pain that doesn’t go away, or pain that wakes your child up in the night
- unexplained seizures (fits) or changes in their behaviour and mood
- headaches that don’t go away
- frequent or unexplained bruising or a rash of small red or purple spots that can’t be explained
unusual paleness - feeling tired all the time
- frequent infections or flu-like symptoms
- unexplained vomiting (being sick)
- unexplained high temperature (fever) or sweating
- feeling short of breath
- changes in the appearance of the eye or unusual eye reflections in photos
Treatment Options
Treatment for Childhood Cancer is dependent on:
- where exactly the cancer is
- the stage, type and grade of cancer
- your child’s general levels of health and fitness.
Depending on the type of cancer your child may have treatments such as Chemotherapy.