July is Sarcoma Awareness Month
Soft tissue sarcomas in children can appear in muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, tendons, connective tissues, or other supporting tissues of the body. Rhabdomyosarcoma accounts for about half of the cases of pediatric soft tissue sarcomas. Less frequent pediatric soft tissue sarcomas include fibrosarcoma, mesenchymoma, synovial sarcoma, and liposarcoma.
Learn more about soft tissue sarcomas here and bone cancers here.
Facts about Sarcomas:
- Rhabdomyosarcoma accounts for 5-8% of childhood cancers.
- 70% of all rhabdomyosarcoma cases diagnosed in the first ten years of life, with the peak incidence in the 1-5 age group.
- In children with localized disease, 70% survive 5 years.
- Overall, 50% of the children diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma survive 5 years.
- There are several rare soft tissue sarcomas that sometimes are diagnosed in children or teens. The ones found most often in children are: synovial sarcoma, fibrosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (also called neurofibrosarcoma or malignant schwannoma), and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Treatment is usually surgery and sometimes radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is sometimes used to shrink large tumors before surgery to remove them. Read more about sarcomas in our “Chemo, Craziness and Comfort” book here.
Symptoms of Sarcoma:
You can download and share these convenient infographics to raise awareness of sarcoma symptoms. Remember, there are different kinds with different symptoms!
Faces of Sarcoma:
Sarcoma Awareness in Cinema
The movie Clouds is raising awareness for Sarcoma and childhood cancer. Click here to learn more.
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