September is #ChildhoodCancerAwareness month.

Tumours of brain and spinal cord are the most common solid tumours in children and are only second to blood cancer in overall numbers of cancer affecting children.

They are common because the nerves of a growing child are replicating at very high rate and therefore prone to errors.

These errors will then lead to the formation of a tumour.

The brain tumours are more common than those affecting the spinal cord.

In the brain we divide them into two compartments. The ones that occur above the tent and the ones that occur below.

Below the tent location, in the cerebellum, is most common.

A child with a tumour May complain of unrelenting headaches and will worry us when associated with:
>nausea and vomiting
>deteriorating vision
>poor growth and short stature
>abnormally large head
>development of a squint
>poor balance and frequent falls
>regressing milestones

Also if the child starts suddenly being :
>clumsy with regressing handwriting
>they may want to sit closer to the board in class because they have poor vision
>development of a full and tense fontanelle
>complains of back-pain and though potty trained starts having accidents

Once these signs are identified the child needs to be assessed by a qualified healthcare professional.

The HCP May then refer the child to a centre with expertise for scanning and treatment of this condition.

Once identified the practitioner will discuss with parents the most suitable way to treat the condition which in most instances is surgery.

Surgery on children is very delicate and needs highly specialized skills to improve the chances of survival and reduction of disability.

Once the surgery is done the lab- through specialists called pathologists- will advise what type of tumour has been identified.

Further surgery may be necessary and the child will be taken over by the oncology team- a team of specialists who treat cancer.

Having a child with a life threatening condition is difficult on parents as they tend to blame themselves.

There is nothing that the mother or father has done to cause or could have done to prevent the development of a tumour.

Once your child has such a diagnosis- support from your community and workplace plays a crucial role as there will be many visits to the hospital.

Let’s beat cancer in children and let’s work towards good outcomes for CNS tumours in children.