What are the symptoms of pediatric leukemias?
Each child experiences symptoms differently. Symptoms may come on suddenly, or develop over several weeks. Some common symptoms include:
- Easy bleeding and bruising
- Frequent nosebleeds
- Anemia, often causing a child to become pale and tired and breathe rapidly
- Recurrent and frequent infections, fever, runny nose and cough
- Bone and joint pain
- Fatigue and weakness
- Abdominal pain, sometimes with loss of appetite and weight loss
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing
How is pediatric leukemia diagnosed?
To diagnose and better analyze your child’s condition ― and help determine the best treatment ― your child’s doctor will complete a thorough medical history and order a number of tests. The most common tests for leukemia are:
- Bone marrow aspiration or biopsy
- Complete blood count and other blood tests
- Imaging studies, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-rays, computed tomography (CT or CAT) scans, and ultrasound
- Lymph node biopsy
- Spinal tap or lumbar puncture to look for leukemia cells in the cerebrospinal fluid
