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The 5-month-old son of celebrity Nick Cannon died recently of a brain tumor, a uncommon however critical situation amongst infants within the U.S., in keeping with specialists within the area.
Solely about 1,200 to 1,500 kids as much as 4 years outdated are identified with mind tumors yearly, mentioned Dr. Susan Chi, the deputy director of pediatric neuro-oncology at Dana-Farber Most cancers Institute and Boston Youngsters’s Hospital.
“Mind tumors in kids are very uncommon. And positively much less frequent than what we see within the grownup inhabitants,” Chi mentioned.
There are dozens of kinds of mind tumors and coverings fluctuate, and the survival fee for infants is decrease the youthful the kid, she mentioned.
That’s as a result of infants’ brains are undeveloped, so radiation for a kid youthful than 5 is mostly not an choice.
“Radiating such a younger mind actually impacts their potential cognition,” Chi mentioned. “That limits how a lot radiation, if any, may be given to those children, and that impacts their survival.”
Cannon, 41, introduced the dying of his son Zen on Tuesday.
“Over the weekend I misplaced my youngest son to a situation referred to as hydrocephalus that’s just about a malignant, midline mind tumor — mind most cancers,” Cannon mentioned. Hydrocephalus is characterised by an irregular enhance within the quantity of fluid on the mind.
Zen underwent surgical procedure to empty the fluid. His situation worsened round Thanksgiving, mentioned Cannon, who didn’t specify what sort of mind tumor his son had.
Danielle Leach, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Nationwide Mind Tumor Society, based mostly in Newton, Massachusetts, misplaced her 5-year-old son, Mason, to a mind tumor in 2006. He lived with the tumor for 15 months, Leach mentioned.
“Any time we, as a group, hear about one other father or mother going by the tragedy of shedding a toddler to a mind tumor, it all the time recommits all of us locally to do extra to proceed to boost consciousness,” Leach mentioned.
Due to the situation of tumors and the aggressive remedy required, mind tumors can have lasting and life-altering bodily and cognitive results, she mentioned.
It’s crucial that folks safe “good info, sources and a powerful relationship” with their care groups it doesn’t matter what stage within the struggle their kids are in, Leach mentioned.
Chi mentioned remedy for kids dwelling with malignant tumors can produce outcomes. She recommends that folks with kids who’ve mind tumors discover specialised docs, which is able to enhance their kids’s possibilities for constructive outcomes.
Though they’re uncommon for infants, mind tumors are the main reason for cancer-related deaths amongst kids and younger adults between infancy and 19 years outdated, in keeping with the Nationwide Mind Tumor Society.
An estimated 4,630 kids shall be identified with a mind tumor this 12 months. Greater than 13,600 kids reside with malignant mind tumors within the U.S., in keeping with the group.
The Nationwide Mind Tumor Society additionally mentioned customary of care for kids with mind tumors isn’t well-defined.
“Extra funding is critically wanted within the basic understanding of why pediatric mind tumors occur and the way we will create cures and high quality of life for these handled,” Leach mentioned. “On the finish of the day, we’re essentially hoping that a health care provider can stroll in a room and say, ‘There’s something I can do.’”
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.
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