September brings awareness to Childhood Cancer, a heavy subject to talk about. We’d like to inform you with some statistics, some you may know, and some brand new facts! While Childhood cancer is rare, it is the most common killer in children. Over 15,000 children, ranging from infants to teens will be diagnosed with cancer, and sadly over 1,000 of them will pass away due to the disease.
The most common type of childhood cancer is Leukemia. Leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. This cancer makes up about 30% of all childhood cancers. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, and Acute Myelgenous Leukemia, are found the most in children. This cancer causes joint pain as well as, weakness, fatigue, paleness, excessive bruising, bleeding, fevers, weight loss and more. Acute Leukemias spread fast, so it needs to be treated quickly, usually with chemotherapy.
Finding Cancer in a child is usually hard to do because they are so rare. Although there are some “warning signs” that parents and your doctor can look for, such as; strange or new bumps or swelling, unusual paleness or fatigue, sudden bruising, excessive pain in a certain area of the body, favoring limbs, random fevers, frequent headaches sometimes with vomiting, sudden vision changes, and unexplained weight loss. Most of these could be caused by something other than cancer too, but it’s best to see a doctor.
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is the prefect time to see a doctor. We will be posting status updates on Twitter and Facebook all month long. Stay tuned.