Any cancer diagnosis is difficult for a family. When that diagnosis is for a child, it can be devastating.

Pediatric cancer, although rare, affects thousands of children in the United States each year. The American Cancer Society estimates more than 9,500 pediatric cases will be diagnosed this year.

It’s important to understand the early symptoms of childhood cancers, because with early detection, they are treatable and curable. Childhood cancers are typically caused by genetic mutations and may be treated differently than adult cancers, which are more often associated with lifestyle factors and environmental exposures.

The most common pediatric cancers are leukemia, lymphomas and brain or spinal cord tumors.

Leukemia is a blood cancer that causes rapid growth of abnormal cells in the

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