Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells that causes illness in
the body. Cells are the tiny units that make up all living things.
Humans are made of over 10 trillion of them! You can't see
cells with your eyes alone, but you can under a high-powered
microscope.
Cancer happens when cells start growing abnormally and dividing
out of control. A group or mass of growing cells is called a tumor.
A tumor in any part of the body is called benign (say:
bih
-nine) if it's not cancer, or malignant (say: meh-
lig
-nent) if it is cancer.
Kids don't get cancer very often. And many of those who do
get it can be treated and cured. Common cancer treatments include
chemotherapy
, which means getting anti-cancer drugs through an
IV
, and
radiation
, which means powerful energy waves (like X-rays) are used to kill
cancer cells. Surgery also might be done to remove tumors. And in
some cases, such as leukemia, a bone marrow or stem cell transplant
might be done to help a kid be healthy again.
Here are a few types of cancer that kids can get:
Leukemia
Leukemia (say: loo-
kee
-mee-uh) is the most common type of cancer kids get, but it is
still very rare. Leukemia involves the blood and blood-forming
organs, such as the bone marrow. Bone marrow is the innermost part
of some bones where blood cells are first made. A kid with leukemia
produces lots of abnormal white blood cells in the bone marrow.
Usually, white blood cells fight infection, but the white blood
cells in a person with leukemia don't work the way they're
supposed to. Instead of protecting the person, these abnormal white
blood cells multiply out of control. They fill up the bone marrow
and make it hard for enough normal, infection-fighting white blood
cells to form.
Other blood cells - such as red blood cells (which carry oxygen
in the blood to the body's tissues) and platelets (which allow
blood to clot) - also get crowded out by the white blood cells of
leukemia. These cancer cells may move to other parts of the body,
including the bloodstream, liver, spleen, and
lymph nodes
. In those areas, cancer cells can continue to multiply and build
up.
Brain Cancer
A brain tumor is a group or clump of abnormally growing cells
that can be found in or on the brain. They're rare in kids. Of
the more than 73 million kids and teens in the United States, about
3,100 are diagnosed with brain tumors every year.
Brain tumors can either start in the brain or spread there from
another part of the body - some cancers that start in other
parts of the body may have cells that travel to the brain and start
growing there.
Lymphoma
Lymphoma (say: lim-
foe
-mah) is a general term for a group of cancers that start in the
body's lymphatic (say: lim-
fah
-tik) system. The lymphatic system is made of hundreds of bean-size
lymph nodes - also sometimes called glands - that work to fight off
germs or other foreign invaders in the body. Lymph nodes are
found throughout the body.
When we get colds or the flu, we can sometimes feel our lymph
nodes along the front of the neck or under the jaw. That's
because when the body is fighting off these germs, the lymph nodes
grow larger. The spleen, an organ in your stomach that filters
blood, and the thymus (say:
thigh
-mes), a gland in the upper chest, also are parts of the lymphatic
system.
Lymphoma happens when a lymphocyte (say: lim-
foe
-site), a type of white blood cell, begins to multiply and crowd
out healthy cells. The cancerous lymphocytes create tumors (masses
or lumps of cancer cells) that enlarge the lymph nodes.
Getting Better
As doctors and researchers learn more about cancer, they're
discovering better medicines and more successful ways of fighting
it. The goal of cancer treatment is to kill or remove all the
cancerous cells so healthy cells can take over again. When this
happens, kids start feeling better and the people who care about
them are relieved and happy.
Reviewed by:
Andrew W. Walter, MD
Date reviewed: November 2008
Originally reviewed by:
Donna Patton, MD
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice,
diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2009 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. All rights reserved.