Awareness Angels Art Project: Childhood Cancer Gold Awareness Ribbon Angel

Childhood Cancer Awareness Gold Ribbon Angel Art

Leukemias and cancers of the brain and central nervous system account for more than half of childhood cancers. About one-third of childhood cancers are leukemias. The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The most common solid tumors are brain tumors.

The causes of childhood cancers are largely unknown. A few conditions, such as Down syndrome, other specific chromosomal and genetic abnormalities, and ionizing radiation exposures, explain a small percentage of cases. Environmental causes of childhood cancer have long been suspected by many scientists but have been difficult to pin down, partly because cancer in children is rare and because it is difficult to identify past exposure levels in children.

Survival rates for childhood cancer have risen sharply over the past 25 years. In the United States, more than 80 percent of children with cancer are alive 5 years after diagnosis, compared with about 62 percent in the mid-1970s. Much of this dramatic improvement is due to the development of improved therapies at children’s cancer centers, where the majority of children with cancer have their treatment.

Children's cancer centers are hospitals or units in hospitals that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in children and adolescents. Most children's, or pediatric, cancer centers treat patients up to the age of 20. Because childhood cancer is relatively rare, it is important to seek treatment in centers that specialize in the treatment of children with cancer.

Specialized cancer programs at comprehensive, multidisciplinary cancer centers follow established protocols (step-by-step guidelines for treatment). These protocols are carried out using a team approach. The team of health professionals is involved in designing the appropriate treatment and support program for the child and the child's family.

In addition, these centers participate in specially designed and monitored research studies that help develop more effective treatments and address issues of long-term childhood cancer survival.

The above information is from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health.

May this Gold Ribbon Angel help bring Awareness to Childhood Cancers! September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Read more online at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/childhoodcancers

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