Diagnosis
Among the most common cancers in children, Nephroblastoma, or Wilms’ Tumor, accounts for 5% of all childhood cancers (American Cancer Society, 2018). The tumor is named after Max Wilms, a German doctor who wrote one of the first medical articles about the disease in 1899. Wilms’ Tumor is the cause nine out of ten cases of kidney cancer in children (American Cancer Society, 2018). Approximately, 500 new cases are found each year in the United States. Diagnosis typically occurs between three and four years of age (American Cancer Society, 2018).
Definition
Wilms’ Tumor is staged based on the extent of tumor spread (Schub &Smith, 2016). In stage one, the tumor is limited to the kidney and can be completely excised (Schub & Smith, 2016).
…show more content…
There are two major categories of Wilms’ Tumors based on histology being either favorable or unfavorable (American Cancer Society, 2018). A favorable histology refers to those cancer cells within the tumor that have no anaplasia, or poor cellular differentiation (American Cancer Society, 2018). With the rate of favorable histology being around 90%, there is a high chance of cure (American Cancer Society, 2018). The second type of Wilms’ Tumor has a more unfavorable of histology. This tumor hosts cells that vary in appearance. The cell’s nuclei tend to be distorted and enlarged (American Cancer Society, 2018). The more anaplasia a tumor has, the more difficult it is to cure (American Cancer Society, …show more content…
Childhood cancers are often the result of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) changes in cells very early in life, sometimes even before birth (American Cancer Society, 2018). The cause of Wilms’ Tumor has remained virtually unknown to doctors and researchers; nevertheless, they have made great progress in understanding typical and atypical kidney development (American Cancer Society, 2018). The kidneys develop early in the fetal stage of development. Mutations in certain genes in early kidney cells can be problematic during development (American Cancer Society, 2018). Some cells that are to develop fully into mature kidney cells occasionally remain early cells. If the maturation of the cells does not happen, the cells may begin to grow out of control, resulting nephroblastoma (American Cancer Society,
The concept of tumor heterogeneity being related to the course of the disease and clinical outcome in cancer patients draws additional attention in the era of personalized medicine (1). Current cancer treatment strategies are based on the site of origin of the primary tumor. However, it was shown that tumors developed from distinct cell types differ in their prognosis and response to cytotoxic therapies (2...
Progress and innovation are key components to discover new possibilities to fight against childhood cancer. To begin with, my interest in healthcare sparked when I was diagnosed with childhood sarcoma cancer at the age of seven. As a cancer
Despite ongoing research, the cause of osteosarcoma is still unknown. Occurring in 2 persons per million per year (Michael et al., 2006) osteosarcoma is the most common primary tumor of the bone, but yet its incidence amongst malignant tumors is rare. However there are numerous factors that have been shown to effect prevalence. Osteosarcoma occurs predominantly in males, although the tumor does have a tendency to develop earlier in females (American Cancer Society, 2014). The risk of osteosarcoma is highest for people who are aged between 10 and 30. Most common however is during the teenage growth spurt, due to the rapid bone growth and higher chance of a mutation occurring in DNA replication. Height can also be a risk factor. Children with osteosarcoma are generally tall for their age, which again indicates a link to rapid bone growth. Osteosarcoma also appears to have a slightly higher prevalence in African Americans than other races. There is also evidence of genetic predisposition being a risk...
Mesothelioma is a very rare form of lung cancer that starts in the mesothelium. The mesothelium is made up of parietal and visceral membranes, thin layers of tissue, which surround organs and body cavities, such as the lungs or abdomen. The visceral membrane immediately surrounds the organ, and the parietal membrane is a sac covering the visceral membrane. The visceral and parietal membranes that make up the mesothelium. This fluid helps organs move easily among surrounding structures. In the case of the lung, it helps reduce friction between the lung and chest wall during normal breathing as the lung expands. The most common place for mesothelioma to develop is in the mesothelial membrane, also called the pleural lining, surrounding the lungs.
Cancer is the term used to describe a group of diseases consisting of hundreds of ailments and although there exists so many different types of cancer, they all begin in a similar way. The body is made up of over a trillion cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malfunctioning cells in the body (Dawson, 1996). “Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries” (American Cancer Society, 2012).
Childhood cancer is a life altering experience, not only for a child, but for their entire family. It is the leading cause of death in children from the time of birth to 14 years of age, defined by the ag...
According to “Medical News Today” cancer is a disease that is caused by an over growth of anomalous cells on one or more lungs. Cells often go up the air pipes which can cause difficulty to breath. Due to the over production of cells the tissue cells often begin to over produce; which results in tumors. There are two types of tumors: malignant and benign. Malignant tumors are the more dangerous of the two due to its invasive nature; which makes it cancerous. While benign is not invasive in other words non-cancerous. This is why cancer spreads to multiple areas and can be sometimes very difficult to fight. Cancer cells are abnormal not only because of their evasive nature, but also because of its irregular life cycle. Rather than expire like a regular cell, they continuously grow and duplicate which causes the disease to spread. This makes cell abnormal in shape and other qualities; known as a sickle cell. Due to the large growth and reproduction rate of the cells this makes the spreading of the cancer more rapid. Each cancer has specific symptom, for lung cancer the sympto...
Writing this book, I realized that I would have to do a bit of research on these cancers so I tried to find some that would make sense for this book. Most doctors and nurses that I talked to gave me lots of information about some other cancers, but these two were the only ones that I could truly understand and that is why I chose those cancers for Gus and
The cancer cells from gene-mutation. Scientists now know some of the risk factors for lung cancer can cause certain changes in the DNA of lung cells. These changes can lead to not normal cell growth and, sometimes, cancer. DNA is the chemical in each of our cells that makes up our genes and how our cells function. People usually look like their parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than how we look; it also can affect our risk for developing certain diseases, including some kinds of cancer like lung cancer etc…Some people inherit DNA mutation from their parents that greatly increase their risk for developing certain cancers.
Steen, Grant R. and Joseph Mirro. Childhood Cancer: A Handbook From St.Jude Children's Research Hospital . Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publisher, 2000.
Kidney cancer is exactly what it sounds like, cancer in your kidneys. Everyone has a pair of kidneys (unless they were removed) located in the upper abdominal area against back muscles on both sides of the body. Purpose of kidneys is the same as the purpose of a filter; to filter out waste products from the blood. Renal cell cancer (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer. Someone who has RCC could have one tumor in a kidney, two tumors in one kidney, or even tumors in both of the kidneys at the same time. Signs of kidney cancer include blood in the urine, lower back pain, a lump on lower back, fatigue, and anemia. RCC is usually treated by either surgery, ablation therapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, or chemotherapy. When surgery is done to treat kidney cancer, either the whole kidney is taken out (radical nephrectomy) or a piece of the kidney is taken out (partial nephrectomy). Surgery is a must when it comes to kidney cancer, without it the survival rate is very low. Removing the kidney can give patients more time to live and also ease pain and bleeding. When a person is too sick to have surgery ablation is done, which is the process of heating the tumor to destroy the cancer cells. Radiation therapy is another treatment that is done if the patient is too sick to have surgery. The common purpose of radiation therapy is to ease symptoms
Kids are meant to be happy, play outside, go to school, and have fun. They aren’t meant to sit in hospitals, losing weight by the pound, carrying around IV poles filled with poison. It’s ridiculous and immature that we don’t have a cure for childhood cancer. The only “treatment” that we have is chemotherapy- a chemical that seems to help fight off cancer. Chemo doesn’t just fight off cancer cells though- it fights off healthy cells in your blood, mouth, digestive system, and hair follicles. The most frustrating thing about childhood cancer is that only 4% of federal funding is exclusively dedicated to childhood cancer research. It is true that more adults get diagnosed with cancer than kids, but does that mean that adults are 96% more important than children? The average age of diagnosis for an adult with cancer is age 67, and the average number of years lost is 15. 15 years are definitely many years, but not that many compared to the average number of years lost for a child- 71. Also, age 67 is a lot older than the average age of diagnoses for a child- age 6. At least the adults get to grow up and have the ability to even have cancer- some of these kids can’t even get through a fifth of their lives.
Benign tumors look similar to the tissues that they came from and develop slowly. The tumor remains in the same area that the tumor originated in. Malignant tumors are formed from cells that do not resemble the tissue that they came from. They vary in shape and size. This enables pieces of the tumor to break off and spread to other places in the body.
( ). Around three thousand new cases of childhood ALL are reported yearly in the United States (Kanwar, 2013). Out of those diagnosed, white children seemed more often affected than children of other races and males were slightly more affected than females (Kanwar, 2013). The frequency of childhood ALL cases crest at ages 2 to 5 and then decreases as they grow older (Kanwar, 2013). Unfortunately, there are no identifiable causes associated with this cancer.
How does one see the symptoms for childhood cancer? First one must know that there are many different types. There are forty different types of children’s cancer, including: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Sarcomas, cancers of the nervous system, liver cancers, kidney cancer, and more. Out of these cancers, the two most common childhood cancers are Leukemia, and brain tumors. What is leukemia? It is a cancer in which the bone marrow and other organs that produce blood produce and increased amount of immature or abnormal white blood cells. The symptoms of leukemia are paleness, excessive bruising, pain in the joints, and fatigue. Brain tumors are formed when a massive amount of cells are produced on the brain. The symptoms for this are frequent headaches, vomiting, seizures, decreased coordination, weakness, and problems concerning vision.