by:MasonDavis
TableofContents
PediatricCancerpg.1
MostCommonTypesofPediatricCancerpg.2
DifferentKindsofTreatmentspg.3
EffectsofTreatmentpg.4
Glossarypg.5
Intro
Whatiscancer
Canceriswhencellsstartgrowingoutofcontrolandinvadingtissueanddamaging
DNA.
Pediatric
Cancer
Therearemanykindof
cancers
(Adiseaseortumor).Sometimesitdependsifyou're
anadult,orakid.Childhoodcancersareoftenfrom
DNA
changesin
cells
(DNAcells
arewhatyourmadeof)inearlylife,orevenbeforebirth.Unlikeadults,childhood
cancerisnotlinkedtolifestyles.Forsomeadults,itissmoking,notputtingon
sunscreen,orusinganopenmicrowave.
Response
to
treatment
Therearesomeexpectations,butkidsbestrespondto
chemotherapy
.Surprisinglykids'
bodiesrespondtochemodrugsbetterthanadults.Thesedrugsstillcauselongterm
effects.Mostkidshavetogotospecialhospitalswheretheyhavethesespecialdrugs.
Children's
hospitals
Thesetypesofhospitalsarespecializedwithtreatingchildren.Sincethe1960speople
havedevelopedthecancerwing.People
diagnosed
withcancergettreatedinthese
hospitals.Specialiststhathaveworkedandstudiedcancerforyearsgettoworkwith
hundredsofkids.
Therearemanykidswithcancer,therearehundredsofthesefacilities,thousandsof
doctors,andmanykidsbeingdiagnosed.Manycancersaretreated,butmanyarenot.
Howcanyouhelp?
Pg.1
MostCommonTypesofPediatricCancers
Leukemia
Leukemiaisacancerin
bonemarrow
orblood.Itisthemostcommonpediatriccancer.
30%ofallkidsdiagnosedwithcancerhaveleukemia.Acuteleukemiaspreadsthe
fastestofallleukemiasandmakesitthemostdeadlyone.
Brainandcentralnervoussystem
Thistypeofcanceraffects26%ofkidsdiagnosedwithcancer.Therearemanytypesof
brain
tumors
.Mostbraintumorsstartinlowerpartsofthebrain.Braintumorscan
cause
nausea
,vomiting,headaches,anddoublevision.
Lymphoma
.
Thesecancersstartincertaincellsofthe
immunesystem
called
lymphocytes
.They
mostoftengrowin
lymphnodes
andother
lymphtissues
,liketonsilsor
thymus
.
Thesecancersaffectbonemarrow,andother
organs.
Thistypeofcancercancause
differentsymptomsdependingonwherethecanceris.Lymphomascancauseweight
loss,andfever.
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Thiscanceraffects
skeletal
muscle
.Thistypeofcancercanstartanywhereinthe
body,includingneckandhead.Thisisthemostcommoncancerforsofttissue.This
canceraffects3%ofkidsdiagnosed.
Therearemanyothercancers,butIwantedtocoverthesecancersbecausetheyare
mostcommon.Leukemia,braincentralnervoussystem,lymphoma,and
rhabdomyosarcoma.
Pg.2
DifferentKindsOfTreatments
Therearedifferenttypesofcancertreatmentsforkids.Somearemoredangerousthan
others.Dependingonwhattypeofcancerandhowbaditis,youmightneedmore
severetreatments.Someofthetreatmentsare
surgery
,
radiation
therapy
,and
chemotherapy
.
Surgery
Surgeryisoneofthetypesoftreatments.Thistypeoftreatmenthasbeenusedfor
manyyears.Also,thistypeoftreatmenthasplayedakeyroleinfindingoutwherethe
cancerhasspread.Anothergoodthingisthatyoucantellwhatstagethecancerisat.
Surgeryusuallyoffersthegreatestchancetocurecancerbecausethesurgeonscan
removethetumor.
Radiation
therapy
Radiationtherapyisanothertreatment.Itiswhentheyusehigh
energy
particles
or
wavessuchas
x
rays,
gammarays,
and
electron
beams
todestroyordamagethe
cancercells.Radiationtherapyisthemostcommontreatmentused.Radiationtherapy
canbegivenaloneorwithothertreatments.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapyisanothercommontreatment.Itistheuseofmedicinetotreatcancer.
Chemotherapyisusuallycalledchemo.Chemokillsthetumorandwhereithasspread
tointhebody.Radiationtherapyandsurgerydon'tkillboth,butfocusonjustthetumor.
Doctorsusecombinationsofdifferentdrugstokillmorecancercells.Chemocancure
cancer,stopitfromspreading,slowitsgrowth,andcankillthecancerinotherpartsof
thebody.
Mosttreatmentsaredeadlyandhavetobeusedcarefully.Youmightneedmoresevere
treatmentifyouhaveseverecancer.Someofthetreatmentsaresurgery,radiation
therapy,andchemotherapy.
Pg.3
EffectsOfTreatment
Therearealotofeffectsofcancer.Someareearly,likerightafteratreatment,and
somearelater.Someoftheearlyeffectscanbesevere.Forexample,lightsensitivity,
ringingintheears,unequalgrowth,boneandjointpain,jointstiffness,changesinthe
wayachildwalks,andweakbones.Alsotheothereffectsaredecreasedlungvolume
(whichcancauseadentinachild'sabilitytoplaysports),shortnessofbreath,cough,
inflamedlungs,andincreasedinfectiontothelungs.Alsotherearealotoflateeffects
fromchildcancers.
Therearealotoflateeffectsofchildcancer.OnethingthatIpersonallyfindsadisthat
theymonitorakidforfiveyearsandseeifthekidsurvivesmorethanfiveyears.Thisis
calleda
5yearsurvivalrate
.Mostkidssurvivethefiveyearsurvivalrate,butsome
kidsdon'tmakeit.8/10kidssurvivethefiveyearsurvivalrate.2/10kidsdon'tsurvive.
Manykidsgetdiagnosedwithcancer.Ifyoucatchthecancerbeforeitspreadsyou
haveagoodpercentageofliving.Anotherlatereffectistheincreasedpossibilityof
othercancerslaterinlife.Usuallywhenthishappensyoucangetcured.
Theeffectsofcancercandependon,yourage,thetypeofcancer,locationofthe
cancer,thetreatment,andhowthecancerresponds.Mostpediatriccancertreatments
areoutofdate.Thatisbecauseadultcancerisusingalltheresearchmoney.Thatalso
causeskidstobeusingadulttreatments.
Therearemanyeffectsoftreatment.Eacheffectisnotgood,andsomearedeadly.
Someeffectsoccurrightafterthetreatment.Othersoccurduringthetreatment.Lastly,
effectscancomeyearsaftertreatment.
Pg.4
Glossary
Cancer
itisadiseaseortumor.Pg.1
DNA
whatyourmadeof.Pg.1
Cells
whathumantissueismadeof.pg.1
Chemotherapy
atreatmentthatincludestypesofmedicine.Pg.1
Diagnosed
whenyouhavebeentoldbyaliscenseddoctorthatyoursick.Pg.1
Luekimia
atypeofcancer.Pg.2
Bonemarrow
whatisinsideyourbones.Pg.2
Brainandcentralnervous
systemtypeofcancer.Pg.2
Tumors
acancerousbump.Pg.2
Nausea
thefeelingofthrowingupanddizziness.
Immunesystem
whitebloodcellsthatfightdisease.
lymphoma
atypeofcancer.
lymphocytes
piecesofcancercellsinlymphoma.
Lymphnodes
partsofthetumor.
Lymphtissues
where
the
cancer
has
spread.
Thymus
a
part
of
the
body
.
Organs
partsofyourbodythathelpyoulive.
Skelatalmuscle
musclethathelpsyoumove.
Surgery
atypeoftreatment.
radiationtherapy
atypeoftreatment
Energyparticles
radiationexposuretokillthetumor.
Xrays
radiationexposuretokillthetumor.
Gammarays
radiationexposuretokillthetumor.
Electronbeams
radiationexposuretokillthetumor.
Pg.5