What makes childhood cancer different to normal childhood illnesses?
Cancer symptoms often present as clusters – a group of symptoms that appear together. Symptoms can also be progressive – a child may start with a headache but then more and more symptoms appear over time.
Symptoms of childhood cancer persist – which means they do not improve or go away like they do in other childhood illnesses.
It is important not to worry if your child has one of these symptoms, but if they develop multiple symptoms, which persist, or they seem more ill than you would expect them to be, it is worth seeing your doctor.
You know your child best, and parental concern is listed in our clinical guideline to be considered carefully when seeing a child or young person with suspected symptoms.
Use our list of symptoms below to help you discuss this with your doctor.
Childhood cancer symptoms by parts of the body
- Persistent headache*
- Persistent or recurrent vomiting
- Fits or seizures (not with a fever)
- Abnormal head position (such as wry neck or head tilt)
- Increasing head circumference (specific to children under two years)
- Head or neck swelling
*Children under 5 will not often complain of headache and will cry/be unsettled
- White pupil (especially in photographs)
- Blurred, double or loss of vision
- Abnormal eye movements
- Squint or abnormal eye movements
- Reduced or loss of vision
- Protruding or enlarged eye
- Bruising around the eye
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Alcohol-induced lymph node pain (specific to teenagers)
- Unexplained shortness of breath
- Shortness of breath on lying flat
- Abdominal distension or mass (with or without pain)
- Abdominal pain (very common and not a symptom to be highlighted alone)
- Blood in urine
- Bladder, bowel or erectile dysfunction (incontinence)
- Bone pain
- Bone swelling
- Lump
- Bone or joint pain
- Restricted limb movement or limp
- Persistent back pain
- Unexplained neurological symptoms: numbness, weakness, back pain
- Balance, co-ordination or walking difficulties
- Lump or swelling in the testicle, breast or groin
- Early or delayed puberty
- Enlarging breasts
- Early puberty
- Excess hair growth
- Extremely pale
- Spontaneous bleeding or bruising
- Yellow skin and eyes
- Pinpoint rash
- Unexplained lump
- Skin changes over the lump/swelling
- Unexplained fever
- Recurrent/persistent infections
- Behaviour change (especially lethargy)
- Persistent worsening fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite