It's almost September, and September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I traveled to the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon today to learn a little bit more.

Children are about 100 times less likely to get cancer than adults, but childhood cancer is still very real for newborns to 18 year-olds. Children aren't affected by all of the same types of cancer as adults. According to Children's Oncology Group, there are 3 types children's cancer... Leukemias, or Cancer of the blood... Lymphomas, or cancer of the immune system... and solid tumors... which affect the bone, organs or tissue.

Doctor Sakhalkar at The Children's Hospital in Macon says about 1/3 of children affected by cancer have a type of leukemia... and about 1/4 have a form of brain tumor. Doctor Sakhalkar says some of the symptoms of cancer include...

Persistent vomiting and headaches, weakness, bruising on the chest and back, bleeding, tiredness, lumps on the stomach or neck, fever, and pain in the joints or bones.

Megan McGraw works as a teacher and counselor at The Children's Hospital... with a program called Child Life. Her main job is to help children and their families understand why they are in the hospital, the medical equipment, and basically break down medical terminology to a child's level. She adds Childhood Cancer Awareness Month helps people to realize what these kids and their families go through everyday.

Coming up throughout this month for Childhood Cancer Awarness, I am going to bring you the stories of 2 year old Allyson, 6 year old Riley, and 16 year old Tori, all cancer patients at the Children's Hospital. Tune in next Monday for the first in the series.