Childhood cancer 

Childhood cancer is a rare disease. Every year one child in 8,000 under the age of 17 will develop cancer (annual incidence age 0-17 = 129 per million). There are about 130 new cases diagnosed in children under age 17 each year in BC.

Childhood cancers differ from adult cancers in how it is presented, cell type and rate of growth. Typically, childhood cancers respond well to treatment and children with cancer have a better chance today of living a longer life than ever before. There has been a steady decline in the mortality rate for cancer of children over the last 20 years.  The likelihood of cure depends on the type of cancer and the extent of disease. Cure rates continue to improve by applying new knowledge gathered through basic research and its application in clinical trials.

Children with Cancer:  A Handbook for Families

This handbook has been produced by the Oncology/Hematology/BMT program and the Family Support and Resouce Centre at Children's Hospital. It is an excellent source of information and is given to parents when their child has been diagnosed with cancer.

The following documents are available in Adobe® PDF (portable document format). This requires the use of the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader plug-in, which can be downloaded free of charge.

Chapter 1: About the Hospital
Chapter 2: Some Things Will Never Be The Same Again
Chapter 3: About Diagnosis
Chapter 4: About Treatment
Chapter 5: Managing the Common Side Effects of Cancer Treatment (including reducing the risk of infections)
Chapter 6: Going Home From The Hospital
Chapter 7: Resources
Chapter 8: Recordkeeping



For More Information:

Childhood Cancer: A Guide for Families - Canadian Cancer Society
CureSearch - Children's Oncology Group
National Cancer Institute - National Institutes for Health


Recommended reading:
"This Battle Which I Must Fight" - Cancer in Canada's Children and Teenagers, published by Health Canada