In the previous article we talked about the importance of early detection of childhood cancer.
The complexity of detection of cancer in children is that in many cases subjective well-being of the child may be satisfactory even in the late stages of the disease. Quite often the tumors are discovered by chance during the prophylactic examination. That’s why regular health examinations are so important. If pediatrician suspects a cancer, he sends a child to conduct additional analysis and examinations.
In the most cases, the final diagnosis is set after the biopsy.

Biopsy – is a small operation during which an area of tumor tissue is separated for histological examination. By the results of biopsy, the kind of the tumor is specified and the stage of the disease is determined. Depending on the stage, the method of treatment is chosen. In case of tumors of blood-forming organs, such biopsy is a puncture of marrow.
Treatment of malignant tumors in children is conducted by pediatric oncologists and hematologists. Treatment of malignant tumors is carried out in specialized oncological (he  matological) departments of large children’s hospitals and in specialized research institutes. After being discharged from the hospital, the child is observed by oncologist in the children’s department of oncology clinics. For cancer treatment of blood-forming organs, pediatric hematologists use conservative therapy – chemotherapy and radiation therapy. For the treatment of other types of childhood cancer (so-called solid tumors), in addition, the surgical method is used.
Modern treatment is carried out according to the international programs - treatment protocols developed for each disease. After the basic course of treatment, patients need long-term maintenance therapy and rehabilitation.
The necessity of use of expensive drugs and treatments has made the pediatric oncology the most invested area of pediatrics. Every year hundreds of people transfer funds on the accounts of children’s cancer centers and charity foundations.

The overall morbidity of malignant tumors in children is relatively small and approximately makes 15 cases per 100 000 children. This means that the cancer risk for the period of childhood has one child out of 450, while in adults this index is ten times higher. Among the total number of patients with cancer, children under 15 years do not exceed 2%. Nevertheless, nowadays in Russia, 4.5 – 6.5 thousands of children are annually revealed with malignant tumors. According to the statistics from the World Health Organization, cancer – is the second leading cause of death in children after violent death (injuries, homicide, suicide).

Fortunately, more than 70-80% of childhood cancers are curable. This is due to the peculiarities of physiology and histology of childhood tumors.

The cause of any kind of cancer is a genetic damage in one of the cells, which leads to uncontrolled growth and proliferation of tumor tissue. However, if in adults, we can identify a number of risk factors that may lead to similar mutations, then in the case of children, the cause of cancer is small genetic anomalies, which were inherited from their parents. Most of us have these anomalies, but not all of them lead to the development of tumors. Risk factors acting on the child (radiation, smoking, unfavorable environmental conditions) are not so important.

Keep in mind, that many genetic diseases, such as Down’s syndrome or Klinefelter’s syndrome, Fanconi anemia, are associated with the increased risk of cancer development.

Most often the children get cancer of blood-forming organs (leukemia, malignant lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease) – 70%. These tumors are called hematological malignancies. Less common are tumors of the central nervous system, bones and soft tissues. The rarest are the “adult” forms of cancer – 3% (tumors of the skin, genitals, etc.).

The most important thing in the case of cancer is early detection.

A lot of parents get worried about symptoms that their toddlers manifest. However, it is not good to jump into conclusions immediately. If you have observed some unusual symptoms in your toddler, it is best to consult a health care provider for further medical evaluation.

For the benefit of parents, awareness of what the signs cancer toddlers may have is a good thing. This is for the purpose of not immediately jumping to conclusions or for early detection of cancer. Early detection is the key to increasing the chances of survival from cancer. And in order to do this, knowing what the signs of cancer is a start.

The first thing to consider is the severity of the symptoms. So that you wouldn’t have to think about cancer every time your child has fever, consider the length of time that the sign has occurred. If the fever persists for more than 14 days, then it is time to consult a doctor.

Another sign of cancer is vomiting episodes that last for more than 7 days. Observe if the child does this every time he wakes up or at night time. If it is also associated with a headache, consult a doctor for further evaluation. Other neurological signs can be associated with brain tumor. These signs are:
• Difficulty in walking or maintaining balance
• Difficulty comprehending
• Forgetfulness
• Seizures
• Sudden change in personality

If the toddler has bone pain or muscle pain that is not related to any known injury, then this can be a sign of bone cancer, especially if it persists for weeks. Toddlers cannot express the pain in a specific way. What you can do is to observe the facial expression of the child and how it affects his normal mobility.

A persistent cough should be observed carefully, especially if it persists even after treatments have been done. The usual treatments for cough are medications for asthma and infection. But if it does not respond to this treatment, consult a physician immediately.

Lastly, the sign to watch out for is the enlarging mass. Any enlarging mass in the body can be a cause of alarm. This is because it is not normal in any way possible. Immediate consultation is recommended.

Cops for Cancer

One of the types of cancer that is still considered to be rare is childhood cancer. However, we must still be aware of the child cancer rates to keep track of it. Knowing these rates can help us see if there have been any changes and what the reasons behind these changes are.

There has been an increase in the incidence of invasive types of cancer in children during the past 20 years. It has been observed that there are now 14.8 cases per 100,000 children, compared to the rates before which were 11.5 cases per 100,000 children. However, though the incidence rates have gone up, the death rates have dramatically declined.

One of the reasons behind the increase in the incidence is the changes in the environment and the increased risk of developing cancer because of the combined effects of the causes of cancer which did not exist before. However, the reasons for the decline in the death rates of childhood cancer are the developing treatments for cancer and the medications that have been made to suppress cancer. These have resulted to cure or long-term remission.

The most common childhood cancers are leukemia and brain tumors. The incidence rates of these two are different from the others. The incidence of childhood leukemia showed no increase or decrease in its trend today compared to the trends before. The incidence rates remain the same.

As for the childhood brain tumors, the overall incidence has increased from 1975 through 2004, with the rates of 2.3 to 3.2 cases per 100,000 children. The highest incidences were in the years 1983 through 1986. However, there was an article in 1998 that explained about the “rise” of the incidence rates during these years. It was during these years that imaging techniques such as MRI was developed. It may have “increased” because during this time, malignant tumors can be differentiated from benign tumors. Despite the explanation of how this “rise” of incidence happened, the rates of childhood brain tumor have been stable until now.

Cops for Cancer

The new treatments that are available in our healthy system today are helping in increasing the survival rates in children. It has been observed through surveys and researches that children who are being treated for cancer survive longer and can cope with the emotional side effects of their illness.
The researchers have concluded that there are nine out of ten children who are being treated for childhood cancer can survive into adulthood. This is good news for children who have been diagnosed with childhood cancer. However, a lot of factors have to be taken into consideration when talking about the survival rates of children with cancer.
First, not all treatments for cancer are available in all countries. The country’s economical condition also matters. Another factor to consider is the type of cancer a child has. There are types of cancer that are very hard to cure and have limited forms of treatment available.
For instance, with leukemia, the responses of children with this type of cancer to the treatments given are good. This type of cancer is the most common type of cancer in children. The psychological and emotional effects of the illness to the child can be difficult to treat but not impossible. Therapies and treatment programs are already developing for the benefit of patients with different kinds of illnesses.
The availability of treatment is not only the sole factor why the survival rates of children are rising today. We should also consider the never-ending cancer awareness education provided by health care workers. This matters because this can help us be aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer and the risk factors associated with it.
Early detection of childhood cancer can contribute to the chances of survival of a child diagnosed with it.

Cops for Cancer

The childhood cancer mortality rate all over the world has dramatically declined during the past decade. With gratitude to the advances in treatment that we have today, the mortality rate of childhood cancer has decreased by 1.7%. These children are below 15 years of age. This decline in the mortality rate is credited to the bone marrow transplants and other treatments that aim to cure cancer and help children and teens survive the disease.
Last 2004, it has been noted that leukemia is the type of cancer that causes most mortality in all types childhood cancer. The cancer of the brain and the nervous system was the second one. From 1990 to 2004, the mortality rate of leukemia declined by 3% annually, and the mortality for brain and nervous system cancer declined by 1% per year.
The decline in childhood cancer mortality was noted to be lesser in American Indian and Alaska Natives. Their childhood cancer mortality rate still held steady. This has caused researchers to study on the reason behind these phenomena.
It has also been noted that the decline in deaths among children with cancer was rather slow for the Hispanics. The access to health care and health care facilities was the noted cause for the slow decline.
Another pattern which is not yet cleared is the slower decline of childhood cancer death rate in the Western states. The other regions have a successful decline in the mortality rates. The reason behind this is still under study.
The developments in cancer treatment and medications are the main reason why the childhood cancer mortality rate has declined. However, we should also consider focusing more on cancer awareness through health education. Childhood cancer has no specific prevention yet, but if we are all aware of how to detect the cancer early through the manifestations a child has, we could be able to detect the cancer early and increase the rate of survival of the child.

Cops for Cancer