Children and Young Adults
Children and Young Adults
Every family living with childhood cancer is thrown into upheaval. The good news, however, is that most childhood patients can expect to have full and productive lives. Many childhood cancer survivors return to school, attend college, enter the workforce, marry and become parents. Nevertheless, being vigilant about follow-up care, being aware of long-term and late effects of treatment, helping your child return to school and even dealing with your emotions are all things you'll need to manage — and these pages will help guide you.
LLS is committed to helping children not only survive their cancer but thrive in their lives after treatment. We encourage you to learn more about The LLS Children’s Initiative, our multi-year effort to bring better treatments and care to children with blood cancer.
LLS Coloring For Kids™
This free coloring app allows children to express their creativity and also offers activities to help them learn about blood cancer and its treatment.
In this Section:
Childhood Blood Cancer
Hearing that your child has cancer is terrifying. Today, however, most childhood blood cancer patients can expect to have full and productive lives. Thanks to new and improved therapies, survival rates for childhood blood cancer have improved significantly over the past several decades.
Young Adults
As a young adult with cancer, you will likely face challenges specific to your age group. We are here to help.
Learn more about the LLS Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors.
Survivorship Workbook
Use the Survivorship Workbook to collect all the important information you need throughout diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care and long-term management of a blood cancer.
Caring for Kids And Adolescents Workbook
The information in the Caring for Kids And Adolescents with Blood Cancer workbook is written for the parent/guardian of a minor child (up to age 18), and includes information about caring for your child, treatment options, school, nutrition, financial and legal issues, and more.
Long-Term And Late Effects Of Treatment For Childhood Cancer Survivors
Treatment for childhood blood cancer may consist of chemotherapy and other drug therapies and may also include radiation therapy or allogeneic stem cell transplantation. There are risks for long-term and late effects common to all of these treatments, and these may include problems with learning, fatigue, bone or joint pain and an increased risk for developing a secondary cancer.
Follow-Up Care For Childhood Cancer Survivors
Once your child’s disease is in remission, the pediatric hematologist-oncologist will continue to monitor your child’s response to treatment and check for signs of relapse. Members of the healthcare team can also help manage any side effects that continue after treatment.
End-of-Life Care
Awareness and discussion of end-of-life issues is an important aspect of care for any serious illness and helps improve quality of life. Talk to your child’s healthcare team about treatment goals and any concerns you have related to prognosis, treatment outcomes and end-of-life care.
Childhood and Young Adult Resources
This page shares free resources for children, young adults and parents, including:
- One-on-one support
- Materials to order
- Nutrition resources
- Webcasts, videos and podcast episodes
- Mobile apps
- Online chats and other peer support
- Financial assistance
- And more!
Childhood and Adolescent Blood Cancer Facts and Statistics
An estimated 54,817 children and adolescents younger than 20 years in the US are living with or in remission from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).