Childhood Cancer Statistics

• Childhood cancers are the #1 cause of death for children. More than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, & pediatric AIDS combined.



• One in every 330 children will develop cancer before the age of 19.



• On the average, 12,500 children and adolescents in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year.



• Nearly 3,000 children and teenagers will die each year from cancer.



• 80% of children have metastasis disease at the time of diagnosis as compared to only 20% of adults.



• One quarter of children diagnosed with cancer will die 5 years from the time of diagnosis.



• Three out of every five children diagnosed with cancer suffer from long-term or late onset side effects. More than ˝ of childhood cancer survivors can expect to have life-threatening or a serious chronic disease by the age of 45.



• Cancer in childhood occurs regularly, randomly, and spares no ethnic group, socioeconomic class, or geographic region.



• The cause of most childhood cancers is unknown and cannot be prevented.



• Less than 3% of all cancer funding is directed at the twelve major types of childhood cancers.



• Childhood cancer is 20 times more prevalent than pediatric AIDS, yet pediatric AIDS receives four times the funding that childhood cancer receives.



• September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, which nationally goes largely unrecognized.



• The gold ribbon is the universal awareness symbol of childhood cancer.