Shouting in pain at night is actually a sign of cancer?
Qiuqiu is 7 years old this year. Recently, he often complains about knee pain at night. The parents don’t take it seriously, but regard it as “growing pains” caused by the child’s growth. One day, when Qiuqiu’s mother was bathing him, she found a large bag on the child’s knee. She hurriedly took the child to the hospital for examination.
After filming, it was revealed that there was a “big hole” in the bone of Qiuqiu’s thigh, which was initially determined to be caused by osteosarcoma. After follow-up pathological examination, Qiuqiu was diagnosed as osteosarcoma and is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the hospital.
There are many clinical examples similar to Qiuqiu, where children have abnormal nocturnal limb pain, and parents don’t take it seriously, thinking that it is caused by “growing pains”, so it is easy to delay the best treatment. opportunity.
1. Osteosarcoma likes to pick children the most, don’t take it as a growing pain!
Wang Dahui, director of the Department of Orthopedics of the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University pointed out that osteosarcoma is very “favored” for children, and children at this stage are in the critical period of growing up, and their bones It develops rapidly and is prone to growing pains. Many parents confuse osteosarcoma pain with growing pains. The disease usually occurs in the long bones such as the arms and thighs, and some children may also appear in the spine, jaw, pelvis and other parts.
Actually, there is a big difference between the pain caused by osteosarcoma and ordinary growing pains: 1. Joint pain
The location of pain caused by osteosarcoma Usually it is at the joint, and the pain is fixed; the pain caused by growing pains is usually at the epiphysis, where the bone grows, and the main source of pain is At the point of attachment of muscles and ligaments to bones.
2. Pain at rest and at rest
Pain caused by osteosarcoma is more likely to occur in< strong>Appears in a quiet state at night, and the pain is intense; growing pains usually appear after strenuous exercise.
3. More and more pain, difficult to relieve
The pain symptoms caused by osteosarcoma are relatively mild in the early stage, and the pain will become more and more with the development of the disease It is severe and cannot be relieved after resting; the pain caused by growing pains can be relieved after resting, and some anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs can help accelerate the relief of symptoms.
4. Accompanied by various symptoms
As the pain symptoms intensify, osteosarcoma will cause local skin lumps , the skin temperature of the pain site will be higher than that of the contralateral limb.
Once parents find that their child is crying with abnormal body pain, they must pay attention to seeking medical examination in time. In addition to children, adults have some discomfort in their legs, and they also need special attention. Second, key points: These symptoms in the legs may also be related to cancer 1. Lumps in the legs
The normal skin of the legs should be delicate and smooth, and many times benign multiple Lipomas cause abnormal lumps in the legs. However, there are also a small number of abnormal leg lumps caused by malignant tumors, which have symptoms such as rapid growth, obvious pain and firm texture.
2. Inexplicable swelling of the legs
There are a large number of blood vessels and nerves in the legs, and when cancer When the cells are rampant in the body, it is easy to cause the blood vessels and nerves to be violated, which in turn can cause abnormal swelling in the legs. Clinically, some cancer patients are admitted to hospital with abnormal leg swelling and lower extremity discomfort as the first symptoms, which are more common in patients with pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, and gynecological tumors.
3. The moles on the soles of the feet become larger
Moles may appear on everyone’s body, and most moles are benign. But some moles in areas that are prone to friction require more attention. Such as moles on the soles of the feet, face and neck, and near the genitals, under prolonged friction, the risk of malignant transformation into melanoma will also increase to a certain extent. When a mole undergoes malignant transformation, symptoms such as rapid enlargement in a short period of time, darker and brighter color, and ulceration and bleeding on the surface of the mole will occur.
4. Fractures caused by slight external force
Bone metastases in patients with malignant tumors will lead to bone destruction, which is very easy to occur in daily life Pathological fractures, even a little external force can cause fractures, which have a great impact on the normal life of patients. Clinically about 30-70% of advanced cancer patients will develop bone metastases, and bone is the third most frequent site of metastases after the lung and liver. It is worth reminding that the above symptoms are not necessarily caused by cancer or diseases. After discovering abnormal symptoms, you should seek medical examination as soon as possible, instead of scaring yourself. Even if you are unfortunate enough to get sick, early detection can lead to early detection and early treatment.
Osteosarcoma will bring great threat to children’s health. Can we prevent this disease? sure! It is important to do these things well.
Third, how to prevent osteosarcoma? More than 50 years ago, the only way to treat osteosarcoma was surgical amputation. Today, although neoadjuvant chemotherapy is available and the proportion of patients receiving limb salvage surgery exceeds 85%, there are still many patients who find it too late and face the risk of amputation. For osteosarcoma, prevention is better than cure. 1. Intensive physical activity
Intensive physical activity can help improveThe body’s resistance and immune function can be enhanced, and it can prevent viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
2. Minimize radiation exposure
Adolescents who are in their developmental period, especially should avoid exposure to radiation as much as possible, including radiology departments and radiotherapy departments in hospitals ; Security detectors in railway stations and airports; Certain detectors in factories.
3. Avoid exposure to chemotherapy toxic substances
There are many types of chemical carcinogens, including alkylating agents, nitrosamines, and nitrosamide compounds As well as some heavy metals, these substances may exist in environmental pollution, pesticides, dyes, and young people should avoid exposure to these substances as much as possible.
4. Eat a healthy diet
Pay attention to maintaining a healthy diet, eat as little or as little as possible Sauerkraut, salted fish, barbecued, smoked and fried foods with high nitrite concentration should also be eaten as little as possible.
5. Maintain a good mood It is necessary to maintain a good mood every day, not to be angry, to feel comfortable, and to maintain physical and mental health to prevent diseases.
Insufficient awareness of the disease, it is easy for people to ignore the “signals” sent by it. The abnormal symptoms in the legs introduced above must be vigilant and seek medical attention in time. , must not delay.
References:
[1] “Don’t Mistake Osteosarcoma for Teenagers’ “Growing Pain”. China Youth Daily. 2019.1.8
[2 ] “These abnormalities on the legs may indicate that cancer is coming”. The Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University. 2021.8.25
[3] “In just 5 months, the black moles on the soles of the feet suddenly became larger! It turned out to be a malignant tumor”. Guangming.2021.4.17