By Stacy Simon
A new report from the American Cancer Society describes the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain in fighting childhood cancer. The report estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths for children and adolescents ages 19 and younger in the US. The report is published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and also as a Special Section in Cancer Facts and Figures 2014.
According to the report, “The news of a cancer diagnosis is never welcome, but may be even more unexpected and difficult when the disease is diagnosed in a child or adolescent.” In 2014, an estimated 15,780 children and adolescents will be newly diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 1,960 children and adolescents will die from cancer.
While advances in treatment have increased the survival rate for many childhood cancers, the disease is still the second leading cause of death (following accidents) in children ages 5-14. Today, about 1 in 530 adults between ages 20 and 39 is a childhood cancer survivor.