Childhood cancers typical effects are mostly as debilitating and fatal as those of adults.
The most common cancers during childhood are tumors, brain and the spinal cord cancerous tumors.
These conditions are marked by abnormal cell growth in the child's brain or spinal cord.
The brain is the sole control centre for the body processes and its malfunctions ultimately affect, detrimentally, the body's health.
Different brain tumor types inhabit specific areas of the brain which hitherto function abnormally.
On the other hand the human spinal cord is the continuous network of nerves linking the human brain all other body parts.
The causative agent of most of these two types of tumors is not yet known.
This is the reality facing the available body of knowledge about childhood cancers tumors.
Brain tumors vary from one child to another and are not easily predictable.
However, once diagnosed, brain tumors are removable through surgical operations.
A common diagnosis technique is the imaging test, although complex interplay of individual factors determines success of the surgery.
Basically, childhood cancers tumors affect any of the three major parts of the brain.
The most frequently affected is the cerebrum which is the single largest section of the brain and is responsible for a child's learning, deep thinking, writing, balanced emotions, coherent speech and voluntary movements of the body.
Cerebral childhood cancers therefore interferes with body movement, balance and posture as well as speech and emotions.
Another key brain part is the stem which links main brain and the human spinal cord.
The stem is mainly responsible for hearing, walking, standing, seeing and heart rate modulation.
It is rare for childhood cancers to affect the stem but when they do, they delimit a child for a very long time.
Stem based brain tumors extend for almost two years between their diagnosis in a child and the complete treatment.
However, any tumor originating in the main brain or spinal cord is called a primary tumor.
These are usually easier to cure completely than the ones originating somewhere else and eventually spreading to the brain.
Tumors originating elsewhere but spreading to the brain are medically referred to as metastatic tumors.
Tumors developed inside the cerebellum are known as rhomboid tumors and may spread to other brain parts like the stem or spinal cord.
In this case, they are considered as a high-grade type.
An example is the astrocytomas tumor which occurs in primary body cells known as astrocytes.
These are usually fast growing, high-grade, malignant tumors in childhood cancers.
If however they are low-grade, they do not spread fast and look quite normal under a light microscope.
Most cases of brain stem tumors are easy to detect in children since they are usually detected by imaging techniques which are very accurate in areas not too hidden from the surface.
Finally, the child's embryo may grow tumors commonly referred to as CNS or CNS embryonic tumor.
This occurs in the brain cells when the fetus is actually in its very first stages of development.
CNS embryonic tumors are of five kinds namely: Ependymoblastoma, Pineoblastoma, Medulloepithelioma, Medulloblastoma and the pineal tumors.