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SCCS -
Bringing Hope to Children
with Cancer
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Childhood
Cancer – once regarded as a terminal illness – has now been
reclassified as a
chronic life-threatening illness. In 1960, only 1% of children with
Leukaemia
survived for 5 years after diagnosis, this figure is now in the range
of
70-80%.
Fortunately, advancements in medical
treatment have greatly
improved
the cure rate of this group of childhood diseases. Even in advanced
states,
many cancers are being arrested and cured.
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What is Childhood
Cancer?
Cancer is an uncontrolled and abnormal cell growth that can spread to
other parts of the body, wreaking havoc and disrupting normal bodily
functions. Childhood cancers grow more rapidly than adult cancers
because the cancer tissues grow together with the fast-growing tissues
of the child. |
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Children are also more susceptible to
certain cancers like
leukaemia,
brain tumours and lymphoma. Currently, the causes of most childhood
cancers
remain largely unknown.
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Other types of
childhood cancer
Osteosarcoma - cancer of the bone
Neuroblastoma - cancer of the sympathetic
nervous system.
Wilms' Tumour- cancer of the kidney |
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For more information on how you can get
involved in our Society,
please call or email us.
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