childhood cancer stats

Cancer is the number one disease killing children from age six months to young adulthood. It is the leading cause of non-accidental death in children.

World

Each year, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide and about 90,000 of these children succumb to the disease. Eighty per cent of children with cancer live in developing nations and more than half of these children will die because they lack access to prompt, effective treatment.

Canada

Approximately 1,500 Canadian children are diagnosed with cancer each year and about 210 Canadian children die from the disease. Some 10,000 Canadian children are living with cancer today. Advances in cancer research and treatments have significantly improved the odds of survival in resource-rich countries like Canada. Since the 1950s, mortality rates for the disease have declined by more than 50 per cent. Today, about 80 per cent of Canadian children with cancer survive the disease.

Alberta

More than 100 Alberta children are diagnosed with cancer every year and thousands more are living with its after effects. There are approximately 1,820 Alberta children living with the disease today.

If you are interested in reading more about childhood cancer statistics, click here for a list of cancer sites.