The scary case of cancer in Children

Every time I see children go through some form of pain it breaks my heart so much, I always just wonder why innocent kids need to go through all this pain and discomfort, they just came into this world for crying out loud. I was watching a program this evening of children who had medical conditions and I got so emotional because the only question on my lips was, why and why does this have to happen to this little one?

There is even a condition called children's cancer. When adults have cancer it's often terrible, so imagine when the condition affects little ones who cannot confidently tell their rights from wrongs just yet. The number of children cancer cases affecting children under the age of 20 years is about 175 cases out of a million studied children cases.

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Childhood cancer can be categorized into three, we have solid tumors, brain and spinal cord tumors, and there is also leukemia and lymphomas. Let's start the description with leukemia and lymphomas, leukemia is the most common existing type of childhood cancer, it is the cancer of the blood and it starts in the bone marrow, where the blood is being formed.
Lymphoma on the other hand starts in the blood-forming cells in the child's lymphatic system. It is the third most common existing type of cancer.

Leukemia also has different types, the most common types of childhood leukemia are, acute myeloid leukemia, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Lymphoma is also a different types, Hodgkinphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Brain and Spinal cord tumors Pediatric brain cancer happens when the cells that ought to be a normal part of the child's central nervous system get transformed into cancer cells. Types include; glioma, embryonal tumor, pineoblastoma, choroid plexus carcinoma, and medulloblastoma.

Solid Tumors happen when cancerous cells divide, multiply, and form masses. This tumor can develop throughout the body of the affected child. This cancer type includes germ cell tumors, Wilms tumors, bone cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, hepatoblastoma, and neuroblastoma.

The acronym, CHILD CANCER has been designed by the Childhood Oncology Group to list out the symptoms of potential childhood cancer.
C stands for a consistent and unexplained loss of weight.

H stands for persistent headaches, usually accompanied by early morning vomiting.

I stand for continuous swelling, and also pain in the joints, back, legs, and bones of the child.

L signifies lumps or mass, especially the one that grows in the neck, chest, armpit, pelvis, or stomach.

D stands for the development of excessive rash, bleeding, or bruising.

C signifies consistent cases of infection.

A signifies a whitish color behind the pupil's eye.

N signifies nausea that persists or a case of vomiting that happens without feeling nauseous.

C stands for constant tiredness

E stands for vision or eye change that happens suddenly and it is persistent too.

R finally stands for recurring or persistent fever especially the type that is not always associated with flu or other common illnesses.

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Childhood cancers are mostly caused by, acquired mutations that happen early in a child's life, sometimes even before the child is born. Every time a cell divides into two, it must make a copy of its DNA for the newly formed cell. Acquired mutations happen because the process is not a perfect one, and errors are bound to occur, especially when these cells are growing very fast. This type of gene mutation can happen at any point in the life of a man, but acquired mutations can only affect a person's cells, it is not passed down to subsequent generations.

Inherited gene mutations are another reason why childhood cancer can happen, but only a small percentage is caused due to this. Apart from mutation, other suspected risk factors are believed to also cause childhood cancer. Some genetic disorders have been known as well to increase the chances of childhood cancer. Some good examples are Fanconi anemia, Noonan syndrome, and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

Secondhand smoke and radiation exposure are other risk factors that are likely to cause childhood cancer.
Treating cancer depends on the stage the cancer is in, sometimes the treatment is used alone or it is used in combination. Surgery is common for solid tumors, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Most times, cancer in children is not caused because of something the parent has done, but in a few situations too, there are certain ways parents can help prevent the chances of cancer in their child's life. Exposing a child to smoking or an environment where adults smoke is very terrible and causes about one in five cases of cancer.

Helping your child maintain a healthy weight is also crucial, so you need to combine a good eating pattern with good hygiene. Vaccinating children against HPV can help reduce their chances of getting cancer. HPV causes almost all types of cervical cancer, it also causes cancer of the mouth and throat. Limiting exposure to carcinogens is also highly important.

For Further Studies.

https://journals.lww.com/njom/fulltext/2023/32050/incidence,_treatment,_and_outcomes_of_childhood.4.aspx

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2013/06/childhood-cancer

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/cancer-in-children

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/childhood-cancer/causes-risk-factors-prevention.html

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/childrens-cancer/risks-causes

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16/7/1297
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24960-childhood-cancer

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Hi, I am Tobi, a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people.