Indonesia
Recognize the Symptoms of Cancer in Children, Parents Must Know!
Cancer does not only affect adults; children can also experience it. As parents, we should recognize the signs of cancer in children because, generally, this condition is almost impossible to detect.
Unlike adults, children tend to have difficulty expressing the pain they are experiencing. According to data from the Ministry of Health, out of 175,000 children in the world diagnosed with cancer, 90,000 of them died. In fact, cancer is the second-leading cause of death in children aged 5–14 years.
The characteristics of cancer in children are almost identical to those of other health problems. However, in cancer patients, the condition usually tends to persist, often occurs repeatedly, and does not go away. Here are some common cancer symptoms in children:
- Recurrent fever for no apparent reason
Fever is indeed a natural health condition experienced by children as the body's natural mechanism for fighting infection. When a child has a fever, the little one's immune system is working. Usually, children will have a fever when they have an infection, after an immunization, or due to changes in the weather. But there are symptoms of fever that parents need to worry about, namely fever that occurs repeatedly and for no apparent reason. This can be a characteristic of leukemia in children.
2.Bleeding that happens suddenly
Does your little one always have nosebleeds or other sudden bleeding? If nosebleeds occur too often, at least up to five times a month, you should be careful because they can lead to cancer.
There are three types of cancer in children and adults that are characterized by bleeding that occurs for no reason, namely leukemia (blood cancer), lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
3. Lumps in Several Members of the Child's Body
The next sign of cancer in children is the appearance of lumps or swelling in several areas of the body, such as the neck, stomach, chest, and can also be in unusual places on the child's body.
This condition occurs due to enlarged lymph nodes, which is an early symptom of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer.
- Weight loss for no reason
Children with cancer often experience weight loss for no apparent reason. This is because cancer makes children lose their appetite, experience nausea, and often vomit. As a result, they lose weight quickly.
- Frequent headaches and vomit
Headaches that are often accompanied by vomiting in the morning are signs of cancer to watch out for. This condition is a sign of brain cancer and soft tissue sarcoma cancer in children.
Apart from occurring in the morning, headaches as a sign of cancer can attack children over and over again without stopping or knowing the time.
- Other conditions that are difficult to explain
In addition to the conditions above, there are several symptoms of cancer in children that they have never experienced before. Here are some of them:
- Urinate with blood
- abdominal pain or swelling that doesn't go away
- Children often wake up at night because of pain in their body, especially in their back or bones.
- Seizures without cause
- Changes in behavior and mood
- Excessive bruising, a rash of small red or purple spots on the body.
- Immunity decreases so that you often get infections or flu-like symptoms.
- Frequent shortness of breath
Those are the symptoms of cancer in children that the Friends of Hermina must be aware of. Make sure to protect your little one from things that can activate cancer cells in his body. Also protect your little one from exposure to cigarette smoke, asbestos at home, and electronic radiation. If Hermina's friends find some of the above symptoms in your little one, immediately consult a pediatrician at the nearest Hermina Hospital.
Reference : https://p2ptm.kemkes.go.id/kegiatan-p2ptm/pusat-/kenali-gejala-dini-kanker-pada-anak#_ftn1