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According to a recent report, around 40,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in India alone. Experts say that though the number of cases is increasing; only about 20-30% of these children get the proper treatment. Among all age groups, the most common childhood cancers are: Leukemia or Blood Cancer: Leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood and is considered the most common type of childhood cancer. The bone marrow produces the three types of blood cells: white blood cells that fight infection, red blood cells that carry oxygen and platelets that help with blood clotting and bleeding.When a child has leukemia, the bone marrow begins to make blood cells that do not mature properly. These cells continue to reproduce, crowding out the healthy ones. As they are defective, they cannot perform their proper role of protecting the body against disease. Brain Tumor: Brain tumor are tumors that originate in the cells of the brain. A tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue.Malignant brain tumors contain cancer cells and are usually fast growing and invade surrounding tissue. They usually do not spread to other areas of the body, but may recur after treatment.Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children. Lymphatic Cancer: Lymphatic cancer is cancer which occurs in the lymph glands. The primary role of lymph nodes is to remove bacteria and other disease-causing organisms from the lymph fluid. It alsoproduces lymphocytes and antibodies needed to fight off infections caused by these organisms. Lymphatic tissues include the lymph glands, tonsils, adenoids, thymus, spleen and even the bone marrow. Cancers originating from lymphocytes are called Lymphomas. There are two major types of lymphomas: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).Together, they are the third most common type of cancer in children. Germ Cell Tumor: Germ cell tumor develops from cells, called germ cells that normally mature into eggs in the female ovaries and sperm in the male testes. Germ cell tumors are considered to be rare with only 2.4 children out of 1 million being diagnosed with germ cell tumor each year. They are thought to make up only 4% of all cancers in children and adolescents less than 20 years of age. Liver Cancer: There are two main types of liver cancer in children called Hepatoblastoma (cancer that usually does not spread outside the liver) and Hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of cancer that usually spreads to other places in the body). It is believed that the cure rate for childhood cancer is high and all efforts should be made to detect it at the earliest. Once cancer has been diagnosed, it's important for parents to seek help immediately.
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