Pediatric Cancer Research Funding Critical to Save Lives

Community • 2nd Jun, 22 • Comment

About Childhood Cancer

• Cancer is the #1 cause of death by disease in children

• Every day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer

• The average age of children diagnosed is six

• More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year

• There are approximately 375,000 adult survivors of children’s cancer in the United States

• All pediatric cancers combined receive less than 4% of federal funding for cancer research

Childhood Cancer in Our Community

Each year, more than 300 children and adolescents at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas are newly diagnosed with cancer, with more than 650 children receiving therapy at any given time. 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer in Texas is treated at Children's in Dallas. Through our work, the survival rate for all childhood cancers is now close to 80%, significantly better than the 50% chance a child was given 30 years ago. The increase in survival is a huge improvement for some cancers, but some other childhood cancers still have a less than 50% cure rate.

There is much work left to be done. By joining together, we can do more to find cures for childhood cancers. 

Long-Term Impacts

Childhood cancer has long-term side effects that continue to affect patients even after they are cancer-free or cured. Depending on the type of cancer and the treatments received, aftereffects experienced by childhood cancer survivors can include problems with learning, infertility, stunted growth, heart and lung problems, secondary cancers, and more.