Children's Cancer Caring Center
More Kids Surviving Leukemia
Children with the most common type of leukemia now have a dramatically better chance of survival, a new study shows. The researchers found five-year survival rates among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) increased from about 84 percent to 90 percent from 1990 to 2005. Surviving ...
FDA Eases Critical Drug Shortage
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced what it called a series of steps to ensure the continued availability of vital cancer drugs that have been in dangerously short supply. One of the drugs, methotrexate, is used in combination with other drugs to combat -- and ...
Barbie’s New Bald Friend
Mattel, the maker of Barbie, will produce a bald fashion doll for children who have lost their hair because of illness or cancer, the company has announced. “These dolls, which will be a friend of Barbie, will be distributed exclusively to children’s hospitals and other hospitals ...
Health Reform Impacts Child Cancer
In the eyes of many politicians, academics and regular Americans, the health reform law doesn't look like the right solution to what ails the health care system. And some of those critics who think the Affordable Care Act is too intrusive have their own ideas ...
40th Anniversary Of War On Cancer
Tremendous progress has been achieved over the 40 years since President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act in December 1971. That landmark legislation led to major U.S. government investment in cancer research that has spurred significant increases in survival and a revolution in our ...
-
DATACORP’s Comedy Cures
Published on Thursday, April 12, 2012 by mcypen
DATACORP's 5th ANNUAL COMEDY CURES Presented by the Seminole Tribe of Florida Benefiting the Children's Cancer Caring Center Thursday, May 3, 2012 Improv Comedy Club & Dinner Theater Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida Admission: $25.00 (inclu...
Comments Off -
Option To Bone Marrow Transplant
Published on Thursday, April 12, 2012 by mcypen
Additional chemotherapy may a better option than bone marrow transplant for some children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who don't respond to an initial intense regimen of chemotherapy called "induction therapy," a new study says. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, is a cancer of th... -
Dental X-Rays Raise Tumor Risk
Published on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 by mcypen
Frequent dental X-rays, particularly in childhood, may be linked to an increased risk of the most common brain tumor in adulthood, say researchers who suggest minimizing the use of X-rays, especially among people without symptoms of tooth or gum problems. Dr. Elizabeth B. Claus, an epidem... -
Tonsils May Help Fight Cancer
Published on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 by mcypen
A tonsillectomy was just part of being a kid 50 years ago. It almost was a rite of passage that guaranteed a diet of ice chips and popsicles. Today, doctors are much less likely to yank out your tonsils, two oval shaped pads in the back of your throat. A new study from Ohio State's Ja... -
No Divorce Over Kid Cancer Stress
Published on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 by mcypen
Parents of children with cancer may be under emotional strain, but they are no more likely than other couples to split up, a new study concludes. Researchers found that among more than 47,000 Danish couples with children, parents of kids with cancer were no more likely than other parent... -
Concern Remains Over Cellphones
Published on Friday, April 6, 2012 by mcypen
Scientists are calling into question a study published last year that failed to find a link between cell phone use and brain tumors in children and teens. They say the study actually shows that cell phone use more than doubles the risk of brain tumors in children and adolescents. The conc... -
Parents Distrust Online Cancer Info
Published on Thursday, April 5, 2012 by mcypen
Parents of children with cancer often distrust online information about their child's illness and also fear what kind of information they might find, according to a new study. Researchers from the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., interviewed 41 parents of pediatric cancer patients ... -
Kid Melanoma On The Rise
Published on Thursday, April 5, 2012 by mcypen
What you think is a harmless mole or freckle on your child could be deadly. Doctors have seen a two-to-three-percent increase nationally in cases of kids with skin cancer, a rate that is actually greater than the rate of increase in any other malignancy currently treated. Keeping kids ... -
Stopping The Spread Of Bone Cancer
Published on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 by mcypen
Many children with the bone cancer, osteosarcoma, die after the tumor spreads to their lungs. In a critical step toward finding a way to stop metastasis, researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center say they have discovered an agent that prevents this type of cancer fro... -
Vaccine Therapy For Brain Cancer
Published on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 by mcypen
A vaccination may help boost the immune system of children with brain tumors, a small new study reports. The prognosis for many children with brain tumors, known as gliomas, is grim. Radiation is the only effective treatment, although there has been hope that a vaccine could boost the imm... -
Gene Mutation Affects Neuroblastoma
Published on Sunday, April 1, 2012 by mcypen
A newly discovered genetic mutation is more common in teens and young adults than infants with a nerve tissue cancer called neuroblastoma. The gene with the defect is called ATRX. While this defect was found in many teens and young adults with neuroblastoma, none of the infants with the d... -
Palliative vs. Supportive Care
Published on Sunday, April 1, 2012 by mcypen
Cancer is the second most common cause of death for children aged 5 to 14 in North America. When it is unlikely the cancer will be cured, parents and health care professionals must often choose between continuing aggressive treatments or providing supportive care alone to alleviate discomf... -
Not All Charities Are Alike
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
Why The CCCC Is Different: When it comes to charitable giving, nothing tugs at the heartstrings and loosens the purse strings more than a picture or story of a child in need. But, before you give to a children's charity, do your homework. The Better Business Bureau examined charities... -
Dad Credits Cannibis For Recovery
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
The parents of a Missoula 3-year-old say that if they had listened to the doctors their son would’ve died. Cash Hyde is now cancer-free for a second time and his parents say marijuana is his best medicine. <Read More> Experts dispute medicinal value of marijuana... Editor's... -
More Kids Surviving Leukemia
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
Children with the most common type of leukemia now have a dramatically better chance of survival, a new study shows. The researchers found five-year survival rates among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) increased from about 84 percent to 90 percent from 1990 to 2005. Survi... -
New Treatment Guidelines For Teens
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
New guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recognize adolescent and young adult cancer patients as a distinct group with needs that are not being met by routine care for adults or for children. The adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology guidelines call for referral o... -
Interactive Video Games Help Kids
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
Researchers have looked at mainstream video games for years, trying to determine the effects games have on players' brains. Maybe they make us faster decision-makers, or better thinkers, or more aggressive. Studies come out nearly weekly and often seem to contradict each other's findings.Â... -
Fruit Fly Studied For Rhabdo Cure
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
Survival rates for children diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma--a childhood cancer found in soft tissue throughout the body-- can be as low as 20%. But Dr. Rene Galindo--assistant professor and researcher at the Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern has discovered something big in somet... -
Viruses Used To Attack Tumors
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
In the early 1900s, not much could be done for cancer patients. Unless surgeons could excise a tumor, the disease typically spelled a swift and inevitable end. But in dozens of published cases over the years, doctors noticed a peculiar trend: Struggling cancer patients sometimes enjoyed a ... -
Campbell’s Caves To Consumers
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
Back in September, the traditionally family-friendly Campbell’s Soup brand was attracting attention from moms for all the wrong reasons: A report released by advocacy group Breast Cancer Fund found the company’s soup to have some of the highest BPA levels among a variety of canned food... -
Developmental Delay For Cancer Kids
Published on Saturday, March 31, 2012 by mcypen
According to new study which was published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, toddlers and infants who were treated for cancer show a delay in cognitive and motor skills, compared with healthy children of same age. Researchers observed that the delays in development stages appear in f... -
Hidden Toxins In Kid Products
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
Flip over your couch cushion or desk chair and chances are, you'll see the same tag that is affixed to the bottom of many others: "This article meets the flammability requirements of California Bureau of Home Furnishings Technical Bulletin 117." The black-and-white notice also adorns an a... -
Kid Cancer Stresses Grandparents
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
A University of Calgary researcher has completed the largest study to date on the experiences of grandparents who have had a grandchild diagnosed with, and treated for, childhood cancer. Funded by the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta, Nancy Moules and her colleagues from the... -
FDA Eases Critical Drug Shortage
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced what it called a series of steps to ensure the continued availability of vital cancer drugs that have been in dangerously short supply. One of the drugs, methotrexate, is used in combination with other drugs to combat -- and in many cas...
-
Predicting Aggressive Brain Tumors
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
A chromosomal abnormality in children with a deadly form of brain cancer is linked with a poorer chance of survival, clinician scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered. The study led by experts at Nottingham's Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre as part of a European... -
UV Photos Show Melanoma Risk
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
Look at a middle school assembly – during their lifetime one in 50 of these kids will develop melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer that kills 48,000 people every year, worldwide. Now look at these kids again – which are at highest risk? You can't tell, but a study recently pu... -
Genetic Test Aids Rhabdo Research
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
A study led by Dr Janet Shipley from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London in collaboration with Dr Mauro Delorenzi from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Lausanne has shown that a simple genetic test could help predict the aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumours i... -
Barbie’s New Bald Friend
Published on Friday, March 30, 2012 by mcypen
Mattel, the maker of Barbie, will produce a bald fashion doll for children who have lost their hair because of illness or cancer, the company has announced. “These dolls, which will be a friend of Barbie, will be distributed exclusively to children’s hospitals and other hospitals trea...
-
Risk Of Infertility For Survivors
Published on Saturday, March 3, 2012 by mcypen
Survivors of cancer in childhood have a higher risk of infertility in later life. This is the conclusion reached by Magdalena Balcerek and her co-authors in a study published in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. <Read More> Many young women receiving cancer treatment are not ... -
Heart Disease Risk For Survivors
Published on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 by mcypen
In a study that provides practical tools for identifying pediatric cancer survivors at high risk for premature death from atherosclerosis, researchers found that teenagers and young adults who survived childhood cancer have increased odds of already having blocked arteries, as well as an e... -
Critical Shortage in Leukemia Drug
Published on Monday, February 20, 2012 by mcypen
Medication used to treat the most common form of childhood leukemia is in short supply, adding to the largest nationwide shortage of critical lifesaving hospital medications in nearly a decade. All five pharmaceutical companies that make the injection drug methotrexate, which treats acute... -
Telling A Child He/She Has Cancer
Published on Monday, February 20, 2012 by mcypen
In almost all cases, kids know when something is seriously wrong with them, and they’ve known for a while they’re significantly not well. They want honesty. Kids want the truth more than adults, who come in with what he called “the ‘what-ifs’ we (adults) carry as a burden. Kids ...
Your generous donation can help us save the life of Demetrious and so many other children just like him. Click the "Donate Now" link to find out how you can receive an exquisite faceted crystal rhinestone bracelet designed exclusively for the CCCC as our way of saying thanks for caring.
• Cancer is the fourth leading cause of all deaths for children ages 1-19.
• Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death, responsible for more deaths than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and AIDS combined.
• Approximately 46 U.S. children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every single day.
• On the average, one in every four elementary schools has a child with cancer.
• One in every 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 19.
• One out of every five children diagnosed with cancer dies.
• About one-third of childhood cancers are leukemias.
• The National Cancer Institute’s federal budget is $4.6 billion; less than 3 percent goes to research into the 12 major pediatric cancers.
Cancer does not discriminate based on which school you attend, how much money you have or the color of your skin. Even though overall cure rates for childhood cancer have improved from 20 to 80 percent in the last 50 years, many children are still lost to this terrible disease.
Cancers in children often are hard to recognize right away because the symptoms can overlap with much more common illnesses or injuries. Children often get sick or have bumps or bruises that might mask the early signs of cancer. Parents should be sure their children have regular medical check-ups and watch for any unusual signs or symptoms that do not go away. These include:
• An unusual lump or swelling.
• Unexplained paleness and loss of energy.
• Easy bruising.
• An ongoing pain in one area of the body.
• Limping.
• Unexplained fever or illness that doesn’t go away.
• Frequent headaches, often with vomiting.
• Sudden eye or vision changes.
• Sudden unexplained weight loss.
