KATIE'S WISH - About Childhood Cancer

Types of Childhood Cancer

Leukemia - cancer of the bone marrow and tissues, which produce the circulating blood cells.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): A cancer of the lymphoid cells in the bone marrow and the lymphoid organs of the body. They are involved in the body’s immune system.
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML): AML (also called acute myeloid leukemia, acute nonlymphatic leukemia or ANLL) is cancer of the myeloid blood cells which are produced in the bone marrow and which help fight bacterial infections.

Cancers of the Central Nervous System

Brain tumors: There are many types of brain tumors; the most common are called gliomas.
Neuroblastoma: is a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system which most often originates in the adrenal glands above the kidney.

Sarcomas - cancerous tumors involving the bones and soft tissues.

Osteosarcoma: the most common type of bone sarcoma. These tumors often are located at the growing end of the long bones of the extremities, close to the joints.
Ewings Sarcoma: a bone cancer that often appears in the middle of the bone. Commonly found in the thighs, hipbones, upper arms and ribs.
Rhabdomyosarcoma: a soft tissue sarcoma that develops in muscles. Most often found in the head, neck, kidneys, bladder, arms and legs.

Lymphoma - a tumor of the lymph tissues, which are part of the immune system.

Hodgkin's disease or Hodgkin's lymphoma: affects lymph nodes nearer to the body’s surface, such as in the neck, armpit and groin area.
Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas: affect lymph nodes found deep within the body. There are many types of lymphoma, include Burkitt's, non-Burkitt's, and lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Liver cancers – an abnormal growth (tumor) in the liver.

Hepatoblastoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma

Cancers of the Kidney

Wilms tumor: also called nephroblastoma
Clear Cell Sarcoma

Other Types of Cancers

Retinoblastoma: a malignant tumor of the retina (a thin membrane in the back of the eye).
Germ Cell Tumors: Germ cell tumors appear most commonly in the testes, the ovaries, the area at the bottom of the spine (sacrococcygeal), and in the middle of the brain, chest or abdomen.

This information has been provided courtesy of CureSearch, Candlelighters® Childhood Cancer Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute.

Childhood Cancer Facts

Each school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer.

In the U.S., approximately 12,400 children under the age of 20 will be diagnosed with some form of childhood cancer each year.

About one in 300 children will develop cancer before the age of 20.

Cancer remains the number one disease killer of America's children -- more than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Asthma and AIDS combined.

Although the 5-year survival rate is steadily increasing, one quarter of children will die 5 years from the time of diagnosis.

66% of the children who are diagnosed and treated for childhood cancers will have long-term side effects or late effects from either the cancer or, more likely, from the treatment.

Many of these kids will be diagnosed with a secondary cancer by the time they reach age 45.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Wear a gold ribbon on your lapel!! The gold ribbon is the official ribbon of children with cancer worldwide, supported, recognized and promoted by hundreds of organizations and treatment centers, families, friends, and caregivers. The purpose of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is to bring attention to childhood cancer and survivorship issues across the continent.