Childhood Cancer

According to The National Children’s Cancer Society 1 in every 285 Children in the United States will be diagnosed with Cancer before the age of 20. These are statistics that no parent is ever prepared for. When the news break of childhood cancer it isn’t your child that is the only one affected but the whole family. Questions will arise. Questions such as Why my child? Where do I go from here? Who will be the best Doctor for my child? Here we will talk about the different types of Cancer and symptoms. Remember N Your Home Health Care is here for you.

A Cancer diagnosis is devastating as it is, but so is wondering who will treat your child during these hard times. A Pediatric oncology is a medical specialist focused on the care of children who have cancer. Those including primary care physicians, pediatric medical oncologist, pediatric surgical specialist, radiation oncologists, rehabilitation specialists, pediatric nurse specialists, social workers, and psychologists. They can be part of your child’s care team. We will get into detail what each of these specialists’ role is.

Pediatric oncology- is a particularly challenging specialty. It involves dealing with young patients who have been diagnosed with different types of cancer. Because of this select niche, it requires a complex skill set to deal with.

Primary care physicians- a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions

Pediatric medical oncologist- are physicians who treat infant, child and adolescent patients who have been diagnosed with cancer or blood disorders

Pediatric surgical specialist- a specialist who is trained to diagnose, treat, and manage the preoperative, operative, and postoperative care of the child.

Radiation oncologists- a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation (such as megavoltage X-rays or radionuclides) in the treatment of cancer

Rehabilitation specialists- each survivors how to learn bny aiding persons in the management of specific problems in perception, memory, thinking, and problem solving

Pediatric nurse specialists- a clinical expert in pediatric nursing who, in addition to providing direct care, serves as a leader in education, research, quality improvement, outcome monitoring and consultation with other nurses

Social workers- a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. It aims to help people develop their skills and their ability to use their own resources and those of the community to resolve problems.

Your child’s care team will depend on the type of cancer your child has and how advanced the cancer is.

LEUKEMIA- A cancer of blood-forming tissues, hindering the body's ability to fight infection

Types of Leukemia:

Acute- rapidly developing/ also divided into acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It all depends on whether the blood cells called lymphyocytes or myelocytes.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia, is a type of cancer that starts in certain blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer that starts from white blood cells (called lymphocytes) in the bone marrow.

Symptoms include:

*pain in the bones

*fevers with no other symptoms

*an abnormally tired feeling

*fatigue

*weight loss

*easy bleeding/bruising

Causes: although it is unknown what causes Leukemia , it is believed that it may be linked to genetic or environmental factors.

OSTEOSARCOMA

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer. Osteosarcoma begins in the bones and sometimes spread.

Symptoms include:

*pain and swelling in leg or arm

*unexplained limp

* bone tissue formation

Causes: Most osteosarcomas arise from unpredictable errors in the DNA of growing bone cells.

NEUROBLASTOMA

Neuroblastoma is a rare disease in which a solid tumor is formed by special nerve cells called neuroblasts, most common in infants. Neuroblastoma sometimes forms before a child is born.

Symptoms:

*irritability

*fatigue

*fever

*swollen stomach

*bone pain

*soreness

*weakness

*drooping eyelid

*difficulty breathing

Keep in mind that they symptoms depend where the disease first started and how much it has spread to other parts of the body.

Causes: Neuroblastoma occurs when neuroblasts grown and divide uncontrollably instead of developing into nerve cells.