👩‍⚕️Ask The Expert: Childhood Cancer

Healthy diet helps lessen and prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Food/formula is not linked to causing cancer in children.

A child’s growth and development are affected by many different factors. For example, the type of cancer, stage, and location will help us to determine the type of treatment the child needs to get for the greatest chance for a cure. Your treating Pediatric Oncologist will discuss the various options, and the risks involved with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery, and its acute and late side effects. Our goal is always to cure first with the least possible side effects.

There are no specific screening tests like cancers in adults, e.g. for breast cancer, we do mammogram screening after a certain age. For cancer in children, we tailor the test based on the symptoms and physical examination findings. For e.g. if we suspect leukemia, we will do a full blood count to look at the white blood cell, hemoglobin and platelets. A bone marrow tests is then done to confirm the diagnosis of leukemia. If we suspect brain tumor, we will do a brain MRI scan.

The most common types of cancer diagnosed in children ages 0 to 14 years are leukemias and brain tumors. Sarcomas, or muscle and bone cancers are more common in teenagers.

Current treatments are very effective. For example, for standard risk ALL, cure rates are close to 98%. Of course the effectiveness will depend on the type of cancer, location and stage

3. Childhood cancer is different from adult cancers in that: in children, the most common cancers in both girls and boys is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), followed by brain tumors and then neuroblastoma. Whereas, in adult women, the most common cancer is breast cancer then colorectal then lung; whilst in adult men, it is prostrate, colorectal and lung. I feel that the cure rates are higher in children because they are able to tolerate treatment easier than adults.

It is a very good question. Cancer in children is still rare. The most common type is acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL where the bone marrow is attacked by abnormal leukemia cells. Children with ALL may have persistent and large bruises or small, tiny red dots (petechiae), bleeding from gums or nose, aches and pain in limbs and refuse to walk, persistent fever, paleness or lethargy, or loss of appetite. It can be a combination of symptoms that alerts you to bring your child to the doctor. Second most common cancer in children is brain tumor. Depending on the location of the tumor in the brain, they may have subtle complaints of blurry vision, tilting their head to see better, weakness in face or limbs, persistent headaches that do not resolve, or vomiting.