Cancer in Children and Teens
Cancer can affect children and teenagers, although it is rare. There are several types of cancer that can occur in children and teens, including:
- Leukemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow)
- Brain tumors (abnormal growths in the brain)
- Neuroblastoma (cancer that starts in nerve tissue)
- Wilms tumor (type of kidney cancer)
- Lymphoma (cancer that starts in the immune system, affecting the lymph nodes).
When it comes to providing care for children and teens with cancer, it is important to get treatment at medical centers with a team of cancer specialists. These centers have the knowledge and experience needed to treat the specific types of cancers that happen during childhood and adolescence.
The team approach involves different healthcare specialists working together to make sure children get the best treatments, care, and support to help them recover and live a better quality of life. The care team usually includes:
- Primary care physicians: These doctors provide general medical care and help manage the overall treatment plan.
- Pediatric surgeons: These doctors are trained to do surgery on children with cancer.
- Radiation oncologists: These doctors use radiation therapy to treat cancer.
- Pediatric medical oncologists/hematologists: These doctors treat cancer in children and teens using chemotherapy or other medical treatments.
- Rehabilitation specialists: They help children get back their physical strength after treatment.
- Pediatric nurse specialists: These nurses are trained to care for children with cancer.
- Social workers: They give emotional support and help families deal with challenges of childhood cancer.
- Child life professionals: They help children feel better emotionally during their hospital stay by providing play therapy and other activities.
- Psychologists: They offer mental health support for children and families going through the emotional stress of cancer.
In the United States, children diagnosed with cancer are treated at children's cancer centers that are a part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported Children's Oncology Group (COG). This group is the largest organization in the world that does clinical research to improve the care of children and teenagers with cancer.
Children and teens with cancer should be referred to these medical centers for specialized care. These centers often participate in clinical trials, which are research studies that try to improve the care and treatment of children with cancer. Clinical trials give patients and their families a chance to try new, advanced treatments.