Cancer for Children

Cancer is a disease that has been known to afflict people from all walks of life. Certain forms of cancer are found exclusively on a specific class of people. For women, the most dreadful cancer disease is breast cancer. For the men, it is prostate cancer. For children, however, there is a special type of cancer that affects millions worldwide. It is called leukemia, and it is the most common type of cancer found among children living in industrialized countries. In Great Britain alone, it is estimated that 1 in every 200 children have leukemia.

Leukemia is known as cancer of the blood, specifically, of white blood cells, which are manufactured in abnormal forms and in great numbers such that they cannot perform the function of keeping the body safe from diseases. They tend to crowd together in the bone marrow area impeding the flow of blood. That is why leukemia is sometimes also known as cancer of the bone marrow.

Several factors account for many incidences of leukemia which include genetic cell mutation, exposure to radiation therapy to treat other cancer diseases, and the use of medicated drugs to improve the immune system especially after an organ transplant. However, no definite factor could be pinpointed as to why the disease often afflicts children. There is now a growing body of evidence linking environmental variables to the rise of leukemia cases in children.

Fortunately, children afflicted with leukemia stand very good chances of survival. With proper treatment, these children can lick the cancer without the hazards of leukemia ever coming back for a second round.