Cancer is when abnormal cells divide in an uncontrolled way. Children's cancer is much less common than adult cancer. The age range for childhood cancer is 0-16 years.
The most common childhood cancers are:
- Acute leukaemia (a type of blood cancer)
- Cancers of the brain and spinal cord
Other types of cancer include:
- Lymphoma
- Muscle or bone cancers, such as rhabdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma (rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type diagnosed in children.
- Neuroblastoma
- Wilms tumours
- Retinoblastoma
Click on the following headings to find out more
If your child displays some of the signs and symptoms below, this does not mean they necessarily have cancer, as cancer symptoms can be very similar to other childhood illnesses such as viruses, common colds, flu etc.
If you have any concerns that your child has any of the signs and symptoms below, please visit your GP:
- Unable to wee or have blood in their wee
- Unexplained lump, firmness or swelling anywhere in the body
- Tummy (abdominal) pain or swelling that doesn't go away
- Back or bone pain that doesn't go away, or pain that wakes your child up in the night
- Unexplained seizures (fits) or changes in their behaviour and mood
- Headaches that don't go away
- Unusual paleness
- Feeling tired all the time
- Frequent infections or flu-like symptoms
- Unexplained vomiting (being sick)
- Unexplained continuous high temperature (fever) or sweating
- Feeling short of breath
- Changes in the appearance of the eye or unusual eye reflections in photos
- Frequent or unexplained bruising
- A rash of small red or purple spots that can't be explained and don't fade under pressure from the side of a glass. This may be harder to see on black or brown skin.
The types of treatment that a child with cancer receives will depend on the type of cancer and how advanced it is.
Common treatments may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplant.
- The Harry Johnson Trust
- Lingen Davies
- Jayne Sargent Foundation
- Children’s Haematology and Oncology – The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
- Cancer Research UK
- Macmillan Cancer Support – The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
- Maggie's
- Family support - Shropshire Council
- Cancer Support and Help for Families - Children with Cancer UK
- Risks and causes of cancer in children - Cancer Research UK
Living With and Beyond Cancer
Cancer Main Page
Children’s Haematology and Oncology Centre (CHOC)
