Rhabdomyosarcoma
A rare infectious tumor with the tissue.
What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of childhood cancer. Sarcomas are cancers that develop through connective tissues like bones, fat, blood vessels, and also the linings of joints. Rhabdomyosarcoma also known as RMS is made up of cells that are normally outside muscle or skeletal muscles. This affects the body in many ways. First, this will lead to a surgery to get rid of all of the tumor. If that doesn't work it could also lead to and amputation of that part of the body. If this goes untreated for too long it could be as bad as death.
Importance
It is important to understand this health condition because it may make you think why some kinds have missed a lot of days of school, if a student or someone you see looks to be a little sickly, or maybe if you see someone with no hair it may make you wonder if they have a type of cancer that has sent them into chemo and radiation. You also would want to know the symptoms in case you are feeling a little sickly. Understanding this health condition could make you feel how they feel and how they go through this whole process.
Causes
There is no known cause for Rhabdomyosarcoma. Could run in the family and then you could have a higher chance to get it.
Symptoms
The symptoms depend on where the tumor is located in the body.
- swelling in that body part
- bad sinuses
- hard time swallowing
- blood in the urine
- blocked rectum
- headaches or feeling like you're going to puke
- bleeding from the nose
- pain
Treatment
There is 3 parts to the treatment which include surgery, radiation and chemo. For the surgery it removes as much of the tumor it can. Next, is radiation this happens with a special radiation machine that focuses on the tumor which leads to killing the tumor. The next step is chemo which is a mixture of drugs that is pumped into your system through an IV. These are the steps of the treatment.
Facts
- 3%-8% of childhood cancers are RMS
- There is two types of RMS (Embryonal RMS and Alveolar RMS)
- about 350 new cases in the us each year involving people under the age of 21
- it is more common in boys than girls
- nutrition is very important through treatment and beyond
- this doesn't just affect the patient it also affects the family
- this health condition is not contagious
- my aunt had this when she 13 and went on until she was 15 (she still has side affects to this day like limping a little, pain because she has no soft tissue on the bottom of her foot, nausea and a couple more
- you can get this in any soft tissue on your body
- this cancer is mostly in little kids
Diet
You should always eat healthy like a lot of fruits and veggies.