Most Common Childhood Cancer
In the interest of helping kids with cancer, the International Society for Children with Cancer helps to provide care and treatments to underprivileged children.
The most common types of cancer in children are different than the types most frequently found in adults. The American Cancer Society indicates that leukemia, consisting of cancers of the bone marrow and blood, account for about 34 percent of children’s cancers. Various types of brain tumors, which are most commonly found in lower parts of the brain and brain stem, encompass 27 percent.
Neuroblastoma, which begins in developing nerve cells while in utero, accounts for 7 percent of childhood cancers and is most commonly found in children under the age of 10 years. Retinoblastoma, or cancer of the eye, is typically found in toddlers and encompasses about 3 percent of cancers in children. Bone cancers are also common in older children and teenagers.
Rare cancers make up fewer than 1 in 30 of all childhood cancers and include hormonal cancers, melanomas, and cancers that can only infect children, like melanotic neuroectodermal tumors of infancy. Although the causes of more rare cancers are unknown, they require the same treatment and care as more common cancers.
According to the National Cancer Institute, 2007 statistics show that 10,400 children under the age of 15 years were diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone. However, death rates are declining and survival rates are increasing due to advances in treatments like surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Helping children with cancer can include donating to a kids’ cancer charity that aims to help provide research and treatment options.
It can be difficult to determine the cause of cancer in children. While genetic and chromosomal abnormalities can contribute to some instances, the cause is still relatively and largely not understood. To support children with cancer, consider donating to the International Society for Children with Cancer today.
