Top 5 Pediatric Cancers: The Warning Signs

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Lifestyle or environmental risk factors do not play a role in the types of cancers that develop in children, like those that develop in adults. It is usually the result of DNA changes in cells which take place very early in life.

More than 80% of children with cancer now survive five years or more and this is due to advances to cancer treatment.

Some children have a much higher chance of developing a specific type of cancer because of certain gene changes which they inherit from a parent. These children may need regular medical check-ups that include special tests to look out for early signs of cancer.

What are the most common cancers in kids and what are the warning signs?

1. Brain tumours

There are many types of brain tumours and the treatment and outlook for each type is different. Most brain tumours in children start in the lower parts of the brain, such as the brain stem. Although brain tumours are typically different in adults, many of the symptoms remain the same.

Symptoms include:

  • headaches
  • dizziness
  • balance problems
  • frequent vomiting
  • vision and hearing or speech problems.

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5 Comments

  1. Kaylee Edwards

    August 1, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    My daughter had a large cancerous tumor in one of her kidneys at 6 weeks old. Such a scary time, but she had surgery to remove the kidney and didn’t end up needing chemo since the cancer was only local to the kidney. It was NOT a Wilms tumor described here in this article, it was a very rare tumor called Celluar Mesoblastic Nephroma. They got our permission to send tissue from the tumor to be studied since they are so rare.

    We are so lucky to have her with us, she is a vibrant and extremely active 2 1/2 year old!

  2. Clanro Kids World

    August 1, 2016 at 10:22 pm

    How curious

  3. Shelley McCool Widner

    August 2, 2016 at 10:50 am

    Although I appreciate you trying to educate with this article, I find it extremely insensitive and not at all inclusive or accurate.

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