Childhood Cancer and its Effects on Family
Each year, the parents of approximately 15,700 kids will hear the words “your child has cancer.” Childhood cancer is much more common than people think. People say it is rare and that is one of the reasons why it doesn’t get much funding. Yet, cancer kills more children than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma, and juvenile diabetes combined. Childhood cancer is devastating and it is very important to know about. It is an awful disease that disrupts the health of young children and affects many families along with them.
Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow and divide with little or no control. The human body is made up of trillions of cells. Skin cells, blood cells, any organ …show more content…
In malignant tumors, cells may move away from the “primary” tumor and travel through the blood or lymph system to other parts of the body and continue to grow at that site. This is commonly known as metastasis [muh-tas-tuh-sis] or secondary cancer. Metastasis is very dangerous because the primary tumor could form another tumor in a distant part of the body very quickly. Even though the cancer is in a new location, the name of the cancer will still remain the primary location. For example, if there is a tumor in the lungs and part of it moves to the brain, it will still be diagnosed as a type of lung cancer. Metastases can make diagnosis and treatment tricky since the cells can spread to any place in the body. The goal in the treatment of any cancer is to treat it quickly and as aggressively as needed before it has the chance to spread. Although, a lot of the times with malignant tumors, they are removed, but then have to be stopped from spreading. Unfortunately, malignant tumors are quite difficult to stop from invading other surrounding …show more content…
This is because the treatments and even the tests for the diagnosis of cancer are not cheap. A single MRI scan for example costs on average $2,600, before insurance. (Lacie Golver/Nerd Wallet) This can be a big problem because depending on the treatment protocol, you could have scans every three months. Not only that, but the actual surgeries themselves are quite expensive. Also, the treatment schedules are so scattered the parents may have to take time off or quit their jobs. This strains the family’s income even more and can potentially put a family in the red. That is why health insurance is very important to have. The insurance companies will be able to pay a certain percentage of the hospital bills rolling in, some may pay up to 100% depending on what it is. This could possibly save your life when it comes to income. Also, the treatment schedules are so scattered the parents may have to take time off or quit their jobs. This strains the family’s income even more and can potentially put a family in the red.
When a child is cured after treatment of their cancer, they either go into remission, going on to live a healthy cancer-free life or they relapse and the cancer starts up again in the same or different region of the body. Relapse can be almost be as devastating as the first
Each year, the parents of approximately 15,700 kids will hear the words “your child has cancer.” Childhood cancer is much more common than people think. People say it is rare and that is one of the reasons why it doesn’t get much funding. Yet, cancer kills more children than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma, and juvenile diabetes combined. Childhood cancer is devastating and it is very important to know about. It is an awful disease that disrupts the health of young children and affects many families along with them.
Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow and divide with little or no control. The human body is made up of trillions of cells. Skin cells, blood cells, any organ …show more content…
In malignant tumors, cells may move away from the “primary” tumor and travel through the blood or lymph system to other parts of the body and continue to grow at that site. This is commonly known as metastasis [muh-tas-tuh-sis] or secondary cancer. Metastasis is very dangerous because the primary tumor could form another tumor in a distant part of the body very quickly. Even though the cancer is in a new location, the name of the cancer will still remain the primary location. For example, if there is a tumor in the lungs and part of it moves to the brain, it will still be diagnosed as a type of lung cancer. Metastases can make diagnosis and treatment tricky since the cells can spread to any place in the body. The goal in the treatment of any cancer is to treat it quickly and as aggressively as needed before it has the chance to spread. Although, a lot of the times with malignant tumors, they are removed, but then have to be stopped from spreading. Unfortunately, malignant tumors are quite difficult to stop from invading other surrounding …show more content…
This is because the treatments and even the tests for the diagnosis of cancer are not cheap. A single MRI scan for example costs on average $2,600, before insurance. (Lacie Golver/Nerd Wallet) This can be a big problem because depending on the treatment protocol, you could have scans every three months. Not only that, but the actual surgeries themselves are quite expensive. Also, the treatment schedules are so scattered the parents may have to take time off or quit their jobs. This strains the family’s income even more and can potentially put a family in the red. That is why health insurance is very important to have. The insurance companies will be able to pay a certain percentage of the hospital bills rolling in, some may pay up to 100% depending on what it is. This could possibly save your life when it comes to income. Also, the treatment schedules are so scattered the parents may have to take time off or quit their jobs. This strains the family’s income even more and can potentially put a family in the red.
When a child is cured after treatment of their cancer, they either go into remission, going on to live a healthy cancer-free life or they relapse and the cancer starts up again in the same or different region of the body. Relapse can be almost be as devastating as the first