Parents, be alert
to leukemia symptoms

As a mother of a child with Down syndrome, the thought of leukemia haunts me. Why? It’s been a documented fact for decades that children with Down syndrome have a 10-30% higher incidence of developing leukemia then typical children.

The good news is that, although scary, it's pretty rare, even in children with Down syndrome. About 1 in 95 will get it (compare this to 1 in 2000 in typical children).

The chances of your child with Down syndrome
getting this childhood cancer are about 1%.

What is it? Basically, it's cancer of the blood-forming cells, starting in the bone marrow and spreading to the blood. The cancer then spreads to other organs of the body. It is the most common type of cancer found in children.

How can I protect my child from it? The best way to protect your child is be alert. If your child shows any signs or symptoms, get him/her to the doctor right away to be tested.

Sign and symptoms include:

• An infection with a high fever that doesn’t go away with antibiotics
• A low grade fever and night sweats
• Tires easily, fatigue, no energy
• Pale skin (not enough red blood cells)
• Swollen abdomen and/or lymph nodes
• Pain in bones or joints
• Having trouble breathing; coughing
• Red spots on the skin
• Bruises easily, small cuts bleed a lot and heal slowly
• Swelling of the arms and face sometimes accompanied by bluish-red discoloration
• Blurred vision, headaches, trouble keeping balance