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Approximately 1 in 300 young people will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20.
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There are about 130 new cases diagnosed in children under age 17 each year in BC |
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Today, despite progress in research, childhood cancer kills more children than any other disease combined. |
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The cause of most childhood cancers is unknown, and at present childhood cancer cannot be prevented. |
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The majority of children with cancer require rounds of chemotherapy to treat their disease. Many require surgery and/or radiation to remove the tumor. For some a bone marrow transplant is their only hope of survival. |
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The length of treatment for childhood cancer ranges from 3 months to 2.5 years. |
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In general treatment for adult cancers is considerably shorter. |
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Three in 10 children will lose their battle with the disease. |
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Significant advances in cancer therapy, the result of scientific and clinical research, mean that approximately 75% of children diagnosed with cancer are expected to become long-term survivors. |
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The improved prognosis for childhood cancer has not been realized without a cost. |
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The intense and extensive medical treatment necessary to achieve a cure often creates additional life threatening, and life altering challenges for the child as they endure treatment during a period when they are developing emotionally, physically and intellectually. The reality is that now, as more and more children are surviving cancer, it is increasingly important to address ongoing and emerging needs of the child and their family in order to achieve complete and long term healing. |
| Adapted from: http://www.kidswithcancer.ca/cancerfacts.shtml |
