Leg pain, often mistaken for growing pains in children, can be a symptom of cancer. Differentiating between them can save lives.
- In Europe and the United States, the most common cancers in young people are leukaemia, brain tumors and lymphoma.
- Half of childhood cancers occur before the age of 5.
“I could hardly believe it. At the height of his seven years, he was a young boy bursting with health and life, impossible to apprehend the idea that he was touched by such a terrifying disease”. Stacey Scorah, mother of a 7-year-old boy named Jayden, told the Huffington Post the discovery of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in her son, which “should start chemotherapy as soon as possible”.
“He was pale and his legs were hurting him”, she recalls. Four weeks into treatment, doctors realize Jayden is responding poorly and choose a more intensive protocol. “He couldn’t do anything on his own, even eat. Now he’s been fed intravenously and has lost the use of his legs.”. Months have passed, Jayden is now in remission, but his legs continue to suffer the consequences of the disease. “Today he can walk using splints and uses a wheelchair when he is too tired.”
Growing pains or cancer?
The difference between growing pains and pain associated with childhood cancer can be complicated to tell. According to statistics, a child who complains of leg pain after a day of sport has a 95% risk of having muscle pain, 5% of suffering from a rheumatological (or other) problem and 0.1% of have cancer. In short, leg pain rarely suggests cancer, but it can happen. In Mexico, a 4-year-old child died of a misdiagnosis: he suffered from persistent pain in his legs, mainly at night. By the time a pediatrician finally diagnosed him with cancer, the disease had already affected the young boy’s liver and other organs.
Therefore, knowing that painful legs can be a sign of cancer is essential for prevention. So if the pain gets worse and your doctor diagnoses your child with growing pains, don’t hesitate to seek further medical advice.
Leg pain and cancer
One of the most common symptoms in cancer patients, adults or children, is fatigue. This can lead to anemia (i.e. a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood), which leads to a reduction in the supply of oxygen to the tissues. The body then lacks energy, the patient feels weak, and this “cancer fatigue” is sometimes accompanied by pain in the legs, and more precisely by venous disorders in the legs. These pains have been observed in several cases of cancers of all types: bladder, blood, bone or ovary. This knowledge can save lives.
