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XPLORE CANCER
What is Cancer?
A disease where abnormal cells replicate and divide uncontrollably, often forming
tumors. There are more than 100 different kinds of cancer.
Kids Health describes Cancer as:
Cancer happens when cells that are not normal grow and spread very fast. Normal body cells
grow and divide and know to stop growing. Over time, they also die. Unlike these normal cells,
cancer cells just continue to grow and divide out of control and don't die when they're
supposed to.
Here are some things we know about cancer from Teens Living with Cancer:
1. Some cancers are caused by inherited or genetic factors. Others are caused by certain
triggers like smoking (increases chances of lung cancer) and too much sun (may cause skin
cancer). Most teen cancers have no known genetic cause or trigger.
2. Cancer is not contagious. You cannot catch cancer from anyone else or spread it to another
person. Tell your friends not to worry – you’re not contagious.
3. Most cancers can be treated and many teens with cancer get better and lead long, normal
lives. Don’t believe us?
What are some common procedures for diagnosing cancer?
There are several common procedures:
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
 Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan
 Intravenous (IV)
 X-ray
 Blood Test
Please visit Kids Health to see movies about these procedures!
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
An MRI is a procedure that scans your body to produce detailed images of your body and its
soft tissue structures.
CAT Scan
Your body is scanned to produce very detailed cross-sectional images of your body.
X-rays
X-rays produce images of parts of your body that doctors can examine to see the inside of your
body.
Blood Test
Hardly anybody likes blood tests or likes needles, but don’t worry these types of tests can tell
the doctors a lot about what’s going on with your body and give clues to possible diagnoses.
How do you treat Cancer?
Cancer is mainly treated by three methods:
 Chemotherapy
 Radiation
 Surgery
Kids Health defines the methods of cancer treatment as:
Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer medicines to treat cancer. These medicines are
sometimes taken as a pill, but usually are given through a special intravenous line, also called
an IV.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy waves, such as X-rays (invisible waves that can pass
through most parts of the body), to damage and destroy cancer cells.
Surgery is the oldest form of treatment for cancer — 3 out of every 5 people with cancer will
have an operation to remove it. During surgery, the doctor tries to take out as many cancer
cells as possible.
Treatment Options
Your treatment plan may be made up of a single treatment approach or it may
include several treatment options. Your care team will talk to you about various
options. Some of these include:
 Chemotherapy
 Radiation
 Surgery
 Supportive Care: Transfusions, Antibiotics, Nutrition
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancerous cells. It’s usually used with surgery or radiation
to treat cancer.
Radiation
Radiation therapy destroys cancerous cells by targeting them with energy rays. It may be used
alone or together with chemotherapy and surgery to treat your cancer. Usually radiation
therapy is used to treat brain tumors, leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and some
sarcomas.
Radiation therapy stops the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, your malignant cells.
Radiation targets the cells ability to multiply and eventually destroys the cancer cell.
There are side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue or weakness,
skin redness or irritation, loss of appetite, and hair loss.
To learn more about Radiation Therapy go to Teens Living with Cancer .
Surgery
Surgery is the most common method for removing solid tumors. This is a very good approach
for tumors that have not spread to other parts of your body.
It is almost always used in combination with radiation or chemotherapy. These treatments will
shrink the tumor if used before surgery, or if used after they wipe out any remaining cancer
cells and reduce chances of reoccurrence.
Supportive Care: Transfusions, Antibiotics, Nutrition
Blood Transfusions
The main reasons why you would be given a blood transfusion is if your blood count is too low.
This is because either your cancer is reducing your bone marrow’s ability to produce blood
normally and/or if your treatment plan is destroying healthy blood cells with your cancer cells.
Antibiotics
Antibiotic therapy is seen as supportive care because it helps your body fight infections. The
first sign of infection is often a high fever. Your white count may be low and can lead to more
infections.
Nutrition
Even if you don’t feel like eating, you’re body needs sustenance to fight and maintain your
health. You may be on feeding tubes. This is when a tiny plastic tube is inserted from your
nose to your stomach so liquid food can be passed down. You may be given nutritional
supplements as well. Another approach is called hyperalimentation. This is a mixed bag of
carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and fats are given through your central line when you aren’t
able to eat.
Who does what?
Often kids wonder who does what in the hospital setting. Different doctors and nurses come
and go; they run tests, talk to you about your condition and support you on your journey to
beating cancer. To help you better understand their responsibility and contributions, here is a
list of the roles health professionals play in your health care described by Teens Living with
Cancer:
Medical Physicians
Oncologist
A doctor that specializes in cancer. You may have one oncologist responsible for your care or
you may have a team of oncologists.
Radiation Oncologist
A doctor who specializes in using radiation to fight cancer. This physician usually is responsible
for coming up with a radiation treatment plan and may be responsible for your scans and xrays.
Attending Physician
A doctor that is part of a team of doctors responsible for your care. You may have different
attending physicians depending on rotating schedules while you are in the hospital or clinic.
Surgeon
A doctor that operates on people. There are many types of surgeons.
Oncology Fellow
A doctor who has completed their residency (training to be a doctor!), but is undergoing more
training to specialize in oncology. They usually work very closely with attending physicians.
Resident
A doctor that has graduated from medical school and is going through more clinical training at a
hospital before becoming fully certified.
Anesthesiologist
A doctor who specializes in administering medicines or other means to prevent or relieve pain.
These health care professionals are part of the team that carries out any surgeries you may
undergo.
Psychiatrist
A medical doctor that specializes in providing psychotherapy or general psychological help.
They are allowed to prescribe medication.
Radiologist
A doctor that attempts to diagnose diseases by evaluating X-rays, CT scans, MRI’s, etc.
Nurses
Nurse Practioner
Nurses that work closely with physicians and can perform physical examiniations and
procedures, diagnose patient problems, order labs, tests, medications and teach about issues
related to cancer care.
Registered Nurse (R.N.)
A nurse that provides care most likely in the hospital. They may draw blood, administer
chemotherapy and/or medications, etc.
Nursing Aide (L.P.N.)
These aides help check vitals, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, etc. They also change your
bed linens and bring food trays to patients.
Inter-Disciplinary Team
Social Worker
A trained professional who is available to help cancer patients and their families adjust to
illness, and access hospital and community resources. They are there to help deal with
problems.
Clinical Psychologist
A therapist who has been trained in determining how you are intellectually and emotionally.
Psychologists talk to you if you feel depressed, sad or anxious about dealing with disease. They
are not medical doctors, but have a doctoral degree in psychology counseling and are referred
to as Dr.
Nutritionist
A nutritionist is a registered dietician who recommends nutritional foods to maintain your
strength during treatment. During some treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, etc.
you may have a decreased appetite. Maintaining your strength is key to helping the body fight
cancer.
Chaplain
Chaplain members are ministers, priests, rabbis, etc. who talk to you about any spiritual or
religious concerns, issues, or needs.
What are the most common types of cancer in kids?
Teens Living with Cancer describes the following types of cancer common in young cancer
patients:
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS)
Types of tumors
Brain and other CNS tumors are usually named for the type of cell from which they grow and
their location.
The most common brain tumors grow from glial cells (the support cells in your brain). Examples
are Astrocytomas, Oligodendrogliomas, Glioblastoma multiforme, Ependymomas, Choroids
plexus tumors.
Tumors that are generally not cancerous, but can put pressure on the brain grow from the
meninges, the protective layer that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. These are called
Meningiomas.
Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) are formed from early stem cells in the brain that
don’t mature into functional cells. These include Medulloblastoma and Pinealoblastoma.
Diagnosis
In order to know what kind of tumor you have there are several ways to determine this. A
biopsy or tumor resection (removing tissue through surgery) can be performed to a pathologist
who identifies the type of tumor. If a biopsy is too dangerous to do to your brain (it might
cause too much damage) an oncologist can usually diagnose a tumor based on the location and
appearance on MRI scans.
You may have a CAT (Computerized Axial Tomography) scan taken that creates a cross-sectional
image of your brain using X-rays. Or you may have an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) test
done. This uses very strong magnet and radio waves of your head and/or spine to produce a
very detailed picture.
Treatment
The next step would be to come up with a treatment plan: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or
a combination of either of the individual treatment options. Surgery can remove the entire
tumor, but this may be difficult if the tumor has grown into surrounding tissues or if surgery
could cause damage. Radiation therapy varies depending on the type and location of your
tumor and how much the surrounding tissue can tolerate the radiation dose. The larger the
radiation dose, the more likely the tumor will grow into surrounding tissue so radiation therapy
must be applied quickly. Chemotherapy can be tricky for CNS tumors. This is because of the
blood brain barrier. This is basically a tightly knit wall of capillaries surrounded by a supportive
sheath which prevents drugs from passing into your CNS. A combination of drugs that can pass
through this barrier can help kill tumor cells.
Interesting Facts
Primary tumors of the CNS are the most common solid tumors in children and are the second
most common childhood cancer. They account for around 10% of all teen cancers.
EWING’S SARCOMA
Ewing’s sarcoma is a family of tumors found in bone and soft tissues. This type of cancer can be
found anywhere in the body. It is most commonly found in the hips, upper arm, or thigh.
Diagnosis
X-rays and biopsies can help diagnose Ewing’s sarcoma.
There are several levels of Ewing’s Sarcoma: localized and metastatic. Localized is when the
tumor is found in only one part of your body. A metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma has spread to other
parts of your body.
Treatment
Your treatment plan will probably be a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation
therapy. Chemotherapy will be applied to treat the primary tumor and any metastasis even if
nothing shows up in the scans. Surgery will remove the tumor if it’s in an area of the body that
won’t be an issue. Radiation therapy is used after the tumor is removed and/or if the tumor is
in a part of your body where surgery would impair you in some way.
Interesting Facts
Ewing’s sarcoma accounts for around 2% of all teen cancers.
GERM CELL TUMORS
Germ cells develop into the reproductive sex organs (testicles in males and ovaries in girls).
They can move to other areas of the body like the chest, abdomen, tailbone, or brain.
Types of Germ Cell Tumors
There are four major types: testicular, sacral, chest and ovarian. Tumors can be found in the
testes of older boys, in the sacrum, in the chest, and in the girl’s ovaries.
Treatment
The two major treatment plans are surgery (removes the tumor) and chemotherapy (drugs are
used to kill tumor cells).
Interesting Facts
Germ cell tumors are responsible for approximately 16% of teen cancers. Adolescents and very
young children are at a higher risk for getting these tumors. Treatment options have improved
remarkably for most patients that around 80% can expect to be cured, although there is
potential for a recurrence or relapse.
LEUKEMIA
Leukemia is a type of cancer that begins in the bone marrow where all your blood is produced.
The bone marrow is found inside your bones (the spongy material). The bone marrow makes
different types of blood cells: red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells.
Diagnosis
The type of white blood cell that grows uncontrollably determines what kind of leukemia you
have. Leukemia blasts (or blasts) are very young cells that multiply but never mature to
become useful. These indicate you have leukemia because these abnormal cells take up space
and don’t let the normal cells grow in your bone marrow. Another consequence of having
these blasts in your body is that you’re body is at risk for infections (low white blood cell
count!), anemia (low red blood count), and bleeding (low platelet count).
You may have to undergo a bone marrow biopsy to diagnose whether you have leukemia.
Treatment
Treatment usually includes chemotherapy and sometimes radiation. You may have to have
bone marrow transplantation.
Types of Leukemia
There are 2 types of leukemia common to children: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) and
Acute Myeloid or Myelogenous Leukemia (AML).
In Acute Lymphocytic (say Lim-fo-SIH-tick) Leukemia, there are a very high number of white
blood cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are made in your lymph glands and bone marrow:
having ALL means that lymphocyte production is uncontrolled.
There are four(4) phases of treatment for ALL:
1. Induction Chemotherapy,
2. Central Nervous System Prophylaxis
3. Consolidation or Intensification Therapy
4. Maintenance Therapy
In Acute Myelogenous (say My-uh-LAH-juh-nus) Leukemia there is a very high number of
abnormal myeloid cells and white blood cells (neutrophils and monocytes).
Treatment for AML has several phases:
1. Induction Chemotherapy
2. Bone marrow transplant OR more chemotherapy
For further information visit Teens Living with Cancer.
RETINOBLASTOMA
Retinoblastoma is a cancerous tumor of the retina. It is the most common eye cancer in
children. Usually children are diagnosed when they are 2 years old, and most are diagnosed by
age 4. This is a type of cancer you can inherit or pass on to your children when you are older.
Treatment
Treatment depends on the extent of the cancer when you are diagnosed and the potential to
keep your vision. Treatment includes: enucleation (removal of the eye), radiation therapy,
and/or chemotherapy.
For further information visit Teens Living with Cancer.
WILM’S TUMOR
Usually children between the ages of 3 and 5 are diagnosed. This cancer is very curable and the
type of treatment does not have significant effects when you are older.
Wilm’s tumor is a cancer that grows in your kidney.
Treatment
Treatment usually includes surgery, chemotherapy (required), and radiation therapy.
For further information visit Teens Living with Cancer.
LYMPHOMA
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph system (lymph cells, lymph nodes, thymus, spleen, tonsils,
and adenoids). The function of this system is to help your circulatory system bring nutrients to
your tissues and carry waste away. It also helps your body identify, trap, and get rid of foreign
cells (bacteria, viruses, etc.).
Types of Lymphoma
There are two types of Lymphoma: Hodgkin’s Disease and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Treatment
Treatment will usually include chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In some cases bone
marrow transplantation or stem cell transplantation is required.
For further information please visit Teens Living with Cancer.
MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME
Myelodysplastic syndromes are diseases where your bone marrow doesn’t work properly and
you don’t have enough normal blood cells being produced.
Diagnosis
If a routine blood test picks up on a low count of mature red blood cells, low white blood cells,
and/or a low count of platelets these are signs of Myelodysplastic syndromes. These are
because of the presence of blasts that don’t mature and don’t function normally.
Types of Myelodysplastic syndromes
1. Refractory Anemia (RA)
2. Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts (RARS)
3. Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts (RAEB)
4. Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation (RAEB-T)
5. Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CML)
Treatment
There are several options: chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant.
For further information, please visit Teens Living with Cancer.
NEUROBLASTOMA
Teens Living with Cancer describe Neuroblastoma as a solid malignant tumor in the nerve
tissue of your neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis. It usually spreads from its primary site to your
bone marrow and bones. It can also spread to your lymph nodes, liver, brain, and the area
around your eyes.
Treatment
Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or a bone marrow
transplantation.
OSTEOSARCOMA
Teens Living with Cancer describe Osteosarcoma as a cancer that starts in your bone forming
cells.
Diagnosis
You usually feel pain or swelling in or near one of your bones. It’s more common at night or
when you’re exercising. Diagnoses include x-rays, blood tests and biopsies.
Treatment
Treatment includes chemotherapy and surgery.
Interesting Facts
Children with Osteosarcoma are characterized by rapid growth and usually affects guys more
than girls.
RHABDOMYOSARCOMA
Teens Living with Cancer describes Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) usually starts in your voluntary
muscles and is part of the soft tissue sarcoma family. These tumors can be found in any part of
your body (even if you don’t normally have voluntary muscles there).
Types of RMS
There are three types of RMS: Embryonal, Alveolar, and Soft Tissue Sarcomas.
Embryonal RMS starts in your eyes, sex organs, or urinary tract organs.
Alveolar RMS is more commonly seen in your extremities or the trunk of your body.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas or Undifferentiated Sarcomas have no specific cell of origin, but are
usually treated like RMS.
Treatment
Treatment includes chemotherapy and usually radiation therapy. In some cases, a bone
marrow transplant may be included.
Interesting Facts
RMS is the most common soft tissue sarcoma. It’s more common in boys than in girls. The
most common age of diagnosis are kids younger than 10 years of age.