September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  What do you know about childhood cancer? Did you know that childhood cancer refers to not one disease but dozens? Did you know that childhood cancer is not the same as adult cancer?

The term childhood cancer refers to a large set of diseases that cause abnormal cell growth in the body. There are childhood cancer types that affect virtually all areas of the body. Leukemia, brain tumors, and lymphoma are the most common types, affecting the blood and the central nervous system. There are more than 50 different types of sarcomas, which arise in bones and soft tissues of the body. And there are other solid cell tumors like neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, hepatoblastoma, and Wilms tumors that show up in the kidneys, eyes, liver, and other parts of the body. 

For each of these different cancer types, prognosis and treatment is different. But one thing is the same: all kids want cures. Here are some common myths — and the facts — about childhood cancer:

1.    Myth: Childhood cancer is the same as adult cancer.

While the names of cancer seem the same across pediatric and adult diagnoses (leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, etc), childhood cancers are not the same as adult cancers. Cancer in children requires its own type of treatments, that are safe for growing bodies. 

For adults, the average age at cancer diagnosis is 66 years old. The average age for a childhood cancer diagnosis is 10 years old — an age when most kids are enjoying 5th grade and preparing for middle school. Kids have more healthy years to lose; in fact, a study once estimated that childhood cancer stole 11.5 million healthy years of life from children in a single calendar year. 

2.    Myth: Childhood cancer is rare, so it impacts less people. 

While incident rates of childhood cancer are significantly lower than those of adult cancers, the impact of childhood cancer reaches entire families. Not only does the affected child miss out on years of healthy life, but parents, siblings, and extended family members are impacted. 

Over half of all families surveyed by ALSF traveled over 25 miles for treatment, impacting work schedules, finances, and home life. Siblings of children with cancer also suffer — often called “shadow survivors,” these brothers and sisters feel the worries and concerns while also trying to have a normal childhood. 

3.    Myth: All kids with cancer get chemotherapy. 

While chemotherapy is often part of treatment for kids facing cancer, the landscape of cancer therapies continues to change, placing more of an emphasis on targeted treatments like CAR-T immunotherapy. In addition, chemotherapy is not a standard of care for certain brain tumors like ependymoma, where surgery and radiation are more often used. 

4.    Myth: When kids finish treatment they are finished with cancer. 

In the United States, there are 500,000 survivors of childhood cancer. For these survivors, the end of treatment is not the end of cancer. Survivors face a myriad of potential long-term side effects and are twice as likely to suffer from chronic health conditions later in life versus children without a history of cancer. 

5.    Myth: There are no drugs approved specifically for children with cancer. 

For decades, there were only 17 drugs specifically for pediatric cancer. Since the first ALSF grant was given in 2005, over 65 new targeted drugs have been FDA approved for pediatric cancer.

6.    Myth: There is nothing we can do to stop childhood cancer. 

Everyone can make a difference! Host a lemonade stand, join The Million Mile, join our One Cup at a Time club, sign up for the End Childhood Cancer Walk/Run, or find another creative way to get involved. Everyone, no matter their age, can make a difference.