When cancer strikes children, it behaves differently from cancer in adults.
Children frequently have a more advanced stage of cancer when they are first diagnosed.
Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors, such as smoking, diet, occupation, and other exposure to cancer-causing agents. The causes of most childhood cancers, on the other hand, are not yet known. Adult cancers are primarily those of the lung, colon, breast, prostate and pancreas. Each of these behaves differently, but all are characterized by an uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells. The majority of adult cancer sufferers are treated in their local community by their family physician, consulting surgeons, medical oncologists or other cancer specialists.