First Day Of Blogging for Blood Cancer

This week I will post some blood cancer facts each day for Blogging for Blood Cancer. Please join us in blogging for a great cause. Sponsored by http://www.goodiesformom.com/ , and http://www.friendsofheroes.org/blog/ . Visit both of these sites to win great prizes for Blogging For Blood Cancer.

What Is Cancer?
All kinds of cancer, including childhood cancer, have a common disease process — cells grow out of control, develop abnormal sizes and shapes, ignore their typical boundaries inside the body, destroy their neighbor cells, and can ultimately spread (or metastasize) to other organs and tissues. As cancer cells grow, they demand more and more of the body's nutrition. Cancer takes a child's strength, destroys organs and bones, and weakens the body's defenses against other illnesses.
Cancer affects only about 14 of every 100,000 children in the United States each year. Among all age groups, the most common childhood cancers are leukemia, lymphoma, and brain cancer. As children enter their teen years, there is also an increase in the incidence of osteosarcoma (bone cancer). The sites of cancer are different for each type, as are treatment and cure rates.
Typically, the factors that trigger cancer in children are usually not the same factors that may cause cancer in adults, such as smoking or exposure to environmental toxins. Rarely, there may be an increased risk of childhood cancer in kids who have a genetic condition, such as Down syndrome. Those who have had chemotherapy or radiation treatment for a prior cancer episode may also have an increased risk of cancer. In almost all cases, however, childhood cancers arise from noninherited mutations (or changes) in the genes of growing cells. Because these errors occur randomly and unpredictably, currently there is no effective way to prevent them.
Sometimes, a doctor may be able to spot early symptoms of cancer at regular checkups. However, some of these symptoms (such as fever, swollen glands, frequent infections, anemia, or bruises) are also associated with other infections or conditions that are not cancer. Because of this, it is not uncommon for both doctors and parents to suspect other childhood illnesses when cancer symptoms first appear.
Once cancer has been diagnosed, it is important for parents to seek help for their child at a medical center that specializes in pediatric oncology (treatment for childhood cancer).

Cancer Treatment
The treatment of cancer in children can include chemotherapy (the use of medical drugs to kill cancer cells), radiation (the use of radiant energy to kill cancer cells), and surgery (to remove cancerous cells or tumors). The type of treatment needed depends on the type and severity of cancer and the child's age.
Surgery

Article courtsey of kidshealth.org