Treatment

 Chemotherapy
 The mainstay of therapy for children with cancer is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy treatment is a general term for  all medications used to treat cancer. It is usually given as a combination of several drugs to fight the cancer in  more than one way. Some of these drugs can be given orally, but many need to be given via the vein  (intravenously or IV) because they cannot be absorbed through the stomach. Others need to be injected  (intramuscularly) or given into the spinal fluid through intratheal (IT) injection.

 Cancer-fighting drugs inhibit the growth and reproduction of cells. Because malignant cells grow and reproduce  faster than normal cells, the effect of the drugs is greater on malignant cells than on normal cells. Unfortunately,  these drugs are also toxic to healthy normal cells. In many cases, damage to cells occurs because normal cells  and cancer cells are similar.

 Side effects of chemotherapy on healthy tissues are most obvious in areas of the body that have high rates of  cell reproduction. These areas include the mouth, intestines, skin, hair (resulting in hair loss), bone marrow,  testicles and ovaries. The effects are often temporary and people usually recover.

 Radiotherapy
 Radiotherapy works by killing the cancer cells immediately, or later, when they attempt to grow. For this reason,  tumour cells can be killed weeks, or even months, after treatment is actually given.

 In order to allow normal tissues to heal, radiation is not given all at once, but in small increments. If radiation were  given all at once, it might destroy the tumour, but it would also result in substantial damage to normal tissues.

  It is well known that radiation therapy can have serious side effects. Radiation destroys tumour tissue, but it also  can damage nearby normal tissues. Short-term side effects include tissue damage similar to burn, skin  discoloration, or weakness. The long-term side effects can include tissue atrophy, impaired growth, scarring, and  secondary cancers. All side effects generally relate to the area or region treated.

 Surgery
 The ultimate goal in the treatment of solid tumours is the total removal of the tumour mass, if at all possible.  Although there are some tumours that can be treated by surgery alone, chemotherapy or radiation therapy is  required for most patients with a solid tumour. Surgery is generally a safe and effective way to reduce the size of  a tumour mass, so that chemotherapy and radiation therapy can be used more effectively.