Childhood and Adolescent Cancer

In our country, approximately 300 children are affected by cancer annually, mainly leukemia. In recent years, with the progress of medicine and due to the adequacy of drugs and trained scientific personnel, 70% of children who have access to specialized treatment do well. The greatest achievement of medicine is the fact that eight out of ten children with leukemia are currently cured. Childhood cancer can be cured.

According to experts, children are much less likely to be affected by cancer than adults, however, cancer remains the most common cause of death in children after accidents.

Childhood cancer is not hereditary, it is not contagious. It does not mean death. It is a serious, life-threatening disease for the child, which requires time and appropriate, specialized treatment and there is no prevention. However, the evaluation of suspicious symptoms and findings can lead to early diagnosis, which is why special attention must be paid to the training of health professionals so that they are able to diagnose the disease in a timely manner and to the proper information of parents so that they can address pediatric hospitals in a timely manner.

If the diagnosis is made without delay, the cure rates are high: modern treatments make prolonged survival and recovery not only possible but possible for many childhood cancers.

Children with cancer should be treated in special pediatric oncology departments and be treated by specialized medical and nursing staff, psychologists and social workers who will care for them not only during treatment, but also during the reintegration period, experts emphasize.

The goal of childhood cancer treatment is not only a cure, but also the maintenance of quality of life, psychological and psychosocial well-being of young patients, as depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood cancer, as a result of the loss of normal life rhythm due to the disease and the side effects of long-term treatment.

MOST COMMON MALIGNANT DISEASES

• ACUTE LEUKEMIAS (30% LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA, 4% MYELOGENIC LEUKEMIA)
• CNS TUMORS (MYELOBLASTOMA)
• LYMPHOMAS (HODGKIN, MH-HODGKIN)
• NEUROBLASTOMA
• WILM’S VOLUME
• SOFT TISSUE SARCOMAS (RABHOMYOSARCOMA)
• BONE SARCOMAS (EWING SARCOMA, OSTEOSARCOMA)

For children and their parents, there are two basic choices. The pessimistic path, which leads to disappointment, and the optimistic one, which is uphill and leads to the top of the mountain. The bends in the road, which lead to the top of the mountain, are many and represent the problems that must be addressed during treatment. The main problems are:

• Repeated hospital admissions due to infections or other complications
• The side effects of chemotherapy (e.g. hair loss, nausea, vomiting, mouth ulcers)
• The side effects of radiotherapy (e.g. hair loss, skin irritation, nausea, vomiting)
• The side effects of surgery
• Allergic reactions to blood, blood products, or antibiotics
• Modifications to school and social activities
• The failure of some treatments

Every problem can be difficult to deal with. Usually, however, it is overcome based on the experience of other children and families with similar problems. Sometimes, the family is unable to overcome a “turn” and is forced to take the pessimistic path. Most children manage to climb the mountain. Treatment may take a long time, but eventually children reach the top of the mountain. For all children with cancer, the goal is a cure. More and more children achieve this goal, grow up and become healthy adults.

Therefore, children and parents should be optimistic.