Types of Cancer

Normal cells grow and die in a controlled way. When cancer occurs, abnormal cells in the body keep dividing and forming more cells without control. As these cancerous cells grow, it often travel to other parts of the body replacing normal tissue, disrupting normal bodily functions.

Unfortunately the fast-growing tissues of children allow cancers to grow more rapidly. Currently, the causes of most childhood cancers remain largely unknown. In Singapore, about 120 new cases of childhood cancer are reported yearly.

Cancer takes its toll physically, emotionally and mentally, not only on the child but also on his or her family. These children under the age of 19 have to battle intense pain, rigorous treatment regime and for some, the trauma of undergoing an amputation. In extreme cases, childhood cancer can lead to death. However, many children do survive the illness and live through adulthood.

The followings are the common types of childhood cancer:

 Leukaemia
 Leukaemia is the cancer of the blood-forming cells. These abnormal, immature white blood cells start to grow  abundantly and invade other tissues and organs. They also crowd out and slow the production of normal blood  cells (white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets) in the bone marrow. The most common form of Leukaemia  among young children is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

Brain tumour
 It is the most common type of solid tumours in children. It forms when cells in the brain or nervous system start  growing abnormally and clump together to form a tumour which then disrupts the normal brain functions.

 Lymphoma
 It is the cancer of the lymph glands which starts in the lymphoid tissue found all over the body. Lymphoma causes  swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, armpit and groin. There are two broad varieties of lymphoma: Hodgkin's  disease and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the latter being more common in children.

 Other types of childhood cancer
 Osteosarcoma - cancer of the bone
 Neuroblastoma - cancer of the sympathetic nervous system.
 Wilms' Tumour- cancer of the kidney