Each year approximately 13,000 children under the age of 20 years are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. Although survival rates for childhood cancer have increased substantially since the 1970s, approximately 2,200 children die from cancer each year.
The diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer present numerous challenges and sources of stress for children and their parents. Blood malignancies are currently the leading cause of death by cancer in children under the age of 15 in the US.