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Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan services children throughout Michigan between the ages of 3 through 18 at no cost to them or their families. The majority of the kids we serve have cancer, although we assist children with other forms of hair loss.
Childhood Cancer Facts
On this page, you will find helpful information and statistics regarding childhood cancer.
- Childhood cancer specifically affects children, teens and young adults.
- Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control.
- 1 in 264 children in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20. (source: ACCO - American Childhood Cancer Organization). 1 in 5 of these children will not survive.
- There are an estimated 15,780 new cases in the United States annually (source: ACCO - American Childhood Cancer Organization).
- Cancer remains the leading disease-related cause of death in the US for children & adolescents ages 1 to 19 years.
- For the children who do survive, the battle is never over. By the age of 50, more than 99% of survivors of childhood cancer have a chronic health problem, and 96% have experienced a severe or life-threatening condition caused by the toxicity of the treatment that initially saved their life. These include secondary cancers, heart and lung disease, cognitive impairment, loss of hearing and sight, infertility, and more. (source: ACCO - American Childhood Cancer Organization).
- How is childhood cancer different from cancers that develop in adults?
The types of cancers that develop in children are different from those in adults. Childhood cancers are often the result of DNA changes in cells that take place early in life, sometimes before birth. Unlike many cancers in adults, childhood cancers are not strongly linked to lifestyle or environmental risk factors.
By the time an adult is diagnosed, loses their hair, completes treatment and their hair grows back; you are looking at about a year. For a child, they are in treatment for 3-5 years and the recurrence rate is higher at 70%.
*Source: American Cancer Society
Common Types of Childhood Cancers
Children ages 0-14:
- Acute lymphocytic leukemia (26%)
- Brain and CNS (21%)
- Neuroblastoma (7%)
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (6%)
Adolescents ages 15-19:
- Hodgkin Lymphoma (15%)
- Thyroid Carcinoma (11%)
- Brain and CNS (10%)
- Testicular germ cell tumors (8%)
*Source: American Cancer Society
The Financial Breakdown
- 82% of families said insurance companies either denied or rescinded health care coverage for their child facing cancer.
- 60% of families caring for a child with cancer had one parent stop working or cut back in hours worked.
*Source: American Childhood Cancer Organization
Long-term Impact of Cancer
- Of the children and adolescents who survive, 3 in 5 will experience long-term side effects from the treatments used to save their lives. (Journey 4 a Cure)
- Thanks to major treatment advances in recent decades, more than 80% of children with cancer now survive 5 years or more. (American Cancer Society)