Facts about Childhood Cancers

Fact 1

Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 15.

Fact 2

Though there are 12 major types of childhood cancer, leukemias (blood cell cancers) and brain and other central nervous system (CNS) cancers make up more than half of new cancer diagnoses.

Fact 3

White children are more likely to develop cancer than any other ethnic group

Fact 4

The five-year survival rate for all childhood cancers was 56% in the 1970s. By the 1990’s, that number improved to 79%.

Fact 5

Each year in the United States, about 3,250 children are diagnosed with a leukemia.

Fact 6

The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Fact 7

For American children between the ages of 1 and 14, the average number of cases is 1 or 2 for every 10,000 children.

Fact 8

Because of how rare it is (along with other reasons), the causes of childhood cancer is widely unknown.

Fact 9

Every year, about 12,400 children and teenagers under the age of 20 are diagnosed with cancer.

Fact 10

Between 1997 and 2001, approximately 1,285 Canadian children were diagnosed with cancer each year, and 227 died each year from cancer.

Sources:

Fact 1-8 from The National Cancer Institute – http://www.cancer.gov/
Fact 9 from Trust for America’s Health – http://www.healthyamericans.org/
Fact 10 from The Canadian Cancer Society – http://www.cancer.ca/