Statistics on childhood cancer

Watch Video: Statistics on childhood cancer by Stuart E. Siegel, MD, ...
Statistics on childhood cancer | Kids in the House
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Statistics on childhood cancer

Comment
57
Like
57
Transcription: 
The statistics for childhood cancer have remained actually pretty stable throughout many, many years. Approximately, every 1 in 333 children, who are aged 14, will develop cancer sometimes during that period of time. So it's a very rare disease to occur. Compared to the 1 in 3 adults who will experience cancer sometime during their life. That rate has not changed. Although in the late 1990s, there were some suggestions that the incidents of childhood leukemia, particularly early childhood leukemia, and brain tumors was going up at a very slow rate. But, that has not continued. So, no one is quite sure if that's real. What has really changed is the rate of survival. That is the ability to treat this patients successfully. When I started my carrier in the late 1960s, about 20%, at most, of children with cancer survived. And almost no children with the very widespread cancer survived. Now, about 80% of the children who develop cancer will survive their cancer. And will be able to go on to live reasonably productive lives. In most cases fairly normal. We still need to learn how to deal with some of the side effects of the treatment that they receive. Which is an increasing challenge as we see more survival.

Watch Video: Statistics on childhood cancer by Stuart E. Siegel, MD, ...

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Stuart E. Siegel, MD

Director, Children’s Center for Cancer & Blood Diseases, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Before recently shifting his focus to international medicine, Stuart Siegel, MD, was Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology for 35 years and the founding director of the the Children’s Center for Cancer & Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Professor and Head of the Division of Hematology-Oncology Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. He remains a leader in supportive care and research in pediatric oncology, with a special focus on neuroblastoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Ewing Sarcoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors. From developing the first pediatric protective environment in 1971 for children undergoing intensive chemotherapy, to pioneering current efforts to develop academic and clinical care programs nationally and locally for adolescents and young adults with cancer, Dr. Siegel’s contributions have revolutionized the field of pediatric oncology. Dr. Siegel has been honored for his work by the American Cancer Society, Children Foundation, the Cancer Foundation, the Chase Foundation, Padres Contra El Cancer, the Israel Cancer Research Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities, where he is a member of the National Board, and has consistently been listed among the nation’s top doctors in such publications asAmerica’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America. He is a father of one son, Joshua; grandfather of David and Elijah; and lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife of seven years.

More Parenting Videos from Stuart E. Siegel, MD >
Enter your email to
download & subscribe
to our newsletter