Facts about ChC
Cancer is the leading cause of death caused by disease in children under the age of 15. *
Every year, approximately 9,000 children are diagnosed with cancer and approximately 1,500 die as a result of the disease. However, each year, more and more children are survivors of cancer. More than 70 percent of children with cancer survive the disease. These children may experience medical and physical effects, psychological effects, and cognitive and neuropsychological effects, all of which can impact their experience transitioning back into the lives and routines they had prior to diagnosis. Therefore, mental health interventions are vitally important in helping children and their families cope adaptively to ensure positive long-term adjustment.
Can Kids Survive Cancer?
Most childhood cancers are very treatable. Approximately 70 to 80%, if children diagnosed with cancer, will survive and grow into adulthood. Survival rates are increasing due to major treatment advances in recent decades. Dr. Watt says children are more likely to respond well to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, leading to higher childhood cancer survival rates than adult survival rates.
The Psychological Impact on the Family/Caregivers
Family members of a child with cancer often suffer various forms of distress with regards to the child’s illness. Parents report feelings of anxiety, depression, symptoms of PTSD, and distress related not only to the child with cancer, but also to the adjustment of the child's siblings.
Siblings also report feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, neglected, and guilty.
Treatment of cancer in children can take extended time, weeks or months, in hospitals and clinics. Parents are often required to leave homes, family, and jobs to be with their children during this frighting and stressful time.
What Causes Cancer in Children?
Cancer occurs in people of all ages and can affect any part of the body. It begins with genetic change in single cells, that tleave their homes ahen grow into a mass (or tumor), that invades other parts of the body and causes harm and death if left untreated. Unlike cancer in adults, the vast majority of childhood cancers do not have a known cause. Many studies have sought to identify the causes of childhood cancer, but very few cancers in children are caused by environmental or lifestyle factors. Cancer prevention efforts in children should focus on behaviors that will prevent the child from developing preventable cancer as an adult.
Some chronic infections, such as HIV, Epstein-Barr virus and malaria, are risk factors for childhood cancer. They are particularly relevant in LMICs. Other infections can increase a child’s risk of developing cancer as an adult, so it is important to be vaccinated (against hepatitis B to help prevent liver cancer and against human papillomavirus to help prevent cervical cancer) and to other pursue other methods such as early detection and treatment of chronic infections that can lead to cancer.
Current data suggest that approximately 10% of all children with cancer have a predisposition because of genetic factors [5]. Further research is needed to identify factors impacting cancer development in children.