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Childhood is the most beautiful of all life’s seasons! But not every child is lucky enough to enjoy their childhood care-free. For children fighting the battle of cancer, the young years can be difficult. It is important to remember that early diagnosis and timely medical treatment can help in saving the child and curing them of cancer.

To spread awareness regarding pediatric cancer, promote the benefits of early diagnosis, and raise funds for families dealing with childhood cancer, India observes September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Childhood Cancer: Understanding the Menacing Problem

Every year, 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer. It is 3-4% of total annual cancer cases detected globally. If we consider the Indian statistics, doctors diagnose 40,000-50,000 childhood cancer cases every year. Although 70-90% of pediatric cancers are curable, the estimate suggests that 70% of kids in India die due to:

1. Lack of awareness

2. Late detection and diagnosis

3. Inability to access medical facilities

4. High treatment cost

5. Unavailability of supportive care.

What Types of Gastrointestinal Cancers develop in Children?

The most common pediatric cancers are leukemia, brain, and spinal cord tumors, neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, bone cancer, Wilms tumor, lymphoma, etc. When it comes to gastrointestinal cancer, surgical gastroenterologists often witness hepatoblastoma and pancreatoblastoma in children.

1. Hepatoblastoma: Malignant Liver Cancer among the Young

Hepatoblastoma is a type of liver cancer occurring in infants, toddlers, and children. It is a rare type of cancer that often affects children under the age of 3-4 years. GI surgeons have noticed that hepatoblastoma usually does not spread to other parts of the body.

Although the exact cause of the disease is unknown, experts pinpoint genetics. Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, glycogen storage diseases, and Aicardi syndrome increase the risk of hepatoblastoma in young children. If a baby is born with low weight, it can affect the risk of developing the disease.

Are there any Symptoms of Hepatoblastoma?

The signs of hepatoblastoma vary depending on the size of the tumor. However, one must look for the following symptoms:

a. Lump/swelling in the belly area

b. Enlargement of veins in the abdominal area

c. Pain in the abdomen

d. Trouble in eating and loss of appetite

e. Fatigue and unexplained weight loss

f. Nausea and vomiting

g. Fever

h. Jaundice

i. Itchy skin

If you notice any of the symptoms of hepatoblastoma, consult a surgical gastroenterologist immediately. The doctor can diagnose the disease after a physical examination, blood tests, ultrasound, tumor biopsy, CT scan, and MRI scan. The patient may have to undergo liver resection surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to treat hepatoblastoma. After the treatment, regular follow-ups are crucial.

2. Pancreatoblastoma: Rare Pancreatic Malignancy in Children

Malignant pancreatic tumors are different in children than those seen in adults. Additionally, they have better clinical outcomes in the younger population. Surgical gastroenterologists, oncologists, and other health care providers have noticed pancreatoblastoma almost exclusively in young children (age range: up to 9 years).

Pancreatoblastoma, pancreaticoblastoma, or infantile-type carcinoma of the pancreas is the most common type of pancreatic tumor in younger children. It causes less than 0.2% of pediatric cancer-related deaths in children. It means early detection and early medical treatment can help the child fight the disease successfully.

What are the Symptoms of Pancreatoblastoma?

Although the disease can be asymptomatic, parents and primary caregivers of the child must look for the following signs:

1. Abdominal pain and swelling

2. Fatigue and lethargy

3. Anorexia and weight loss

4. Diarrhea

5. Nausea and vomiting

Predominantly, the male children among the Asian population are affected by pancreatoblastoma. Doctors believe that congenital cases of the disease have some link to Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

The surgical gastroenterologist will recommend tests: sonography, CT scan, MRI scan, etc., to diagnose pancreaticoblastoma. After a successful diagnosis, the young patient may need surgical pancreatic resection to remove the tumor.

Treatment, Care, and Support is Necessary

Childhood cancer can affect the young patient physiologically as well as emotionally. With immediate medical treatment, the emotional support of a counselor or support group is essential to help the child and family members.

To fight against the terrible disease, children need to undergo regular medical screening. Additionally, we need more childhood cancer awareness, better medical infrastructure, and improved public health strategies to avoid losing our future generation.

Why It is important to wear a cotton face mask? In order to answer this question, one must have a clear understanding of what face masks are all about. Basically, they are masks that are used to clean the face from dirt, makeup, and oil. We usually apply these face masks when we have very important meetings or conferences to attend to. However, it is also possible for us to clean our faces while having fun at a friend’s party.

As we all know, cotton is considered the best material that can absorb the oil produced by our skin. So when we are wearing a face mask made out of this material, we can easily get rid of the oil without having to worry about it getting absorbed into our skin. This is one of the main reasons why it is important to wear a face mask. Oil production can cause several skin problems such as acne, wrinkles, and even blackheads. Thus, we should all try to avoid excessive oil production to avoid these problems from developing on our skin.

Another reason why it is important to wear a cotton face mask is that it makes our skin breathe easier. When our skin is breathing easily, we are able to prevent dust and dirt from entering our skin. Dirt and dust can cause our skin to produce excess oils that can block our pores and cause pimples and acne on our face. Thus, we should all try to prevent as much dust as possible to avoid having these problems.

One other reason why it is important to wear a cotton face mask is that it can prevent your skin from sweating. Sweat plays an important role in making our skin moist and soft. However, excessive sweating can cause our pores to clog which can cause our skin to become irritated and cause blackheads and pimples to develop on our face.

The last reason we need to discuss why it is important to wear a cotton face mask is that it can help remove dead skin cells from your face. When your skin is overly dry, dead skin cells from which can make your face look dull and lifeless. Furthermore, dead skin cells can accumulate around your pores which can also cause bacteria to grow. If you don’t want your skin to be oily, you should always try to apply an oil-free moisturizer to your face before you go to bed.

Cotton is one of the most comfortable fabrics to wear when you have to go to bed at night. If you want to stay awake all day and function properly, wearing a cotton face mask can help. Most cotton masks will come with elastic bands that allow them to fit tighter on your face.

The fourth reason we need to discuss why it is important to wear a cotton face mask is that this kind of mask will usually have a lot of ingredients in it. There are a lot of products on the market that claim to clean your face, but they often leave your skin dry or worse. To avoid such situations, always make sure you follow the directions of the product you choose.

These are some of the top four reasons we need to discuss why it is important to wear cotton face masks. Now that you know a little more about these masks, start checking out which face mask works best for you. The important thing is to cleanse your face gently using a gentle cleanser and use a mask to keep it moisturized throughout the day. Remember to wash your face twice a day to prevent a breakout of acne and to keep it healthy.

A healthy lifestyle is a key to enjoyment. It is correct to conclude that if you are healthier, you will automatically remain happy. However, it is important for us to recognize the ways that will make you healthy. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not a very difficult task, you can easily follow it using some simple techniques such as bringing changes in your diet, consuming a lesser amount of salt and sugar, reducing the intake of harmful fats, etc. Besides these reasons, there are other factors such as stress, tension, and anxiety that act as a barrier to a healthy lifestyle. If you are stress out , you will not be happy. Ultimately you will feel unhealthier. Therefore, in order to cope up with stress, anxiety, and depressionyou need to take anti-anxiety medications. What are the healthy tips that you need to follow? Adopting a healthy diet plan:- Fruits, vegetables, legumes, chicken, fish are consider to be the healthier things. Therefore, it is advisable to take this type of rich diet and include all these things in your diet. Try to cut down on junk food that is the food which is high in calories. Because the food which is higher in calories, will make you obese and thereby you will feel unhealthier. By eating healthier food items, you will reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and strokes. It will also automatically improve your life expectancy as well.

Reducing the intake of salt and sugar:- These two components are the worst enemies of a healthy diet if you are taking it at more than the recommended levels. HIgher sugar level makes you feel diabetic and thereby increases the pressure of the blood flow to the heart. There are increase risks associated with heart attack and stroke. Try to ut down the sugar and salt levels by switching on to a diet that has low sodium as well as sugar content.

Reduce the intake of harmful fats:- Saturated fats are considered to be unhealthier when compare to saturated fats. Saturated fats have the tendency of getting deposite in the blood vessels thereby increases the chances of heart failure. Unsaturated fats are found in avocados, fish, nuts, sunflower, soybean, canola, and olive oils.

Cut down the consumption of alcohol:- It is not safe to consume alcohol at more than the recommend levels because it will cause liver cirrhosis, cancers, and heart disease as well as the injuries that have the link with violence. Moreover, there is also an increased risk for collisions and road accidents.

Do not smoke:- Smoking is detrimental and injurious to the health. Smoke contains a higher level of nicotine. Nicotine has the tendency to increase the levels of blood flow to the heart. More is the level of blood flow to the heart, more are the chances of heart damage and brain stroke.

Be-active:- Physical activity plays a very important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It is advisable to do at least 150 minutes of physical activity. Increased levels of physical activity reap additional health benefits.

Check your level of blood regularly:- Hypertension is the main reason that causes brain stroke, heart failure, kidney disease. Therefore, doctors recommend taking a healthy diet so as to prevent yourself from these deadly diseases. You can also take anti-anxiety medications to reduce stress levels. The lower level of stress will decrease the flow of blood to the heart. Cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing:- There are various diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis that do get transmit through the air. When a person sneezes or does cough in the air, droplets get spread from one person to another, and therefore, it is an unhealthier phenomenon.