Life goes through a constant process of renewal that involves new cells been formed to replace old cells. When this natural sequence becomes disrupted by mechanisms yet to be understood, the uncoordinated growth results in what is called cancer. Most cancers occur among adults but there are certain cancers that occur in children, though rare and for these, there are red flags to look out for.
It's important to understand that some of the red flags discussed here are not specific to cancer, so the first thing to do is to seek medical consultation to rule out other causes of these symptoms. These red flags include:
- Unexplained feeling of tiredness or chronic fatigue: This is unusual in a healthy child. Seek help immediately to rule out common causes like anemia or some nutritional deficiencies.
- Headaches that don't go away: Children often complain about headaches
- Unexplained fits (seizures): Recurrent convulsions could be as a result of brain tumors as well as other illnesses. You should never neglect the sudden development of seizures in a child with no previous history. Seek medical help immediately!!!
- Paleness: Persistent paleness of your child’s skin or eyes may suggest something serious. While pallor can be caused by blood disorders, it could also result from blood cancers. In cancer, pallor either results from destruction of the bone marrow, which produces red blood cells or destruction of the blood cells themselves.
- Unexplained back or bony pain that doesn't go away: Adults complain often about backache but when your child has a chronic complaint of back ache this is not a good sign and requires quick medical attention. The ache might be from a cancerous mass eroding the bone!
- Blood in the wee or inability/difficulty in peeing: Peeing should be an effortless activity. Difficulty in weeing is always a sign of trouble. Seek help immediately!
- Unexplained lump, mass or swelling anywhere in the body: Swellings don't just occur--they could be from infection, injury or other causes. When you notice a swelling that you cannot ascribe to any cause or that stays longer than usual, seek medical help to be sure that it is not cancer in a child. Again, assuming that all is well because there's no pain could be dangerous as many cancers start painless swellings. By the time some of these swellings get painful, things could have gone out of hand--so please be concerned about swellings-- especially painless one!
- Tummy pain that doesn't go away: Tummy aches and distension are a popular complaint among children. They often wane away just as frequently. However, when a tummy ache persists despite regular home or self-help measures, seek medical help to rule out other illnesses, including cancer!
- Unexplained bruising: Frequent unexplained bruises could be a serious red flag. Easy and frequent bruising and bleeding are often seen in blood cancers called leukemias. Easy bruising with no apparent explanation is a definite red flag necessitating urgent medical attention!
Take-home message: Cancer often starts as harmless symptoms, such as swelling in the eye, pain in the tummy, or gum bleeding when brushing the teeth; but these symptoms may mean something serious, such as cancer, if they persist. Whether a symptom seems a red flag or not, seek medical help. It's better to err on the side of caution!
