Cancún, Quintana Roo — Symptoms of childhood cancer, especially those linked to leukemia, can easily be mistaken for dengue or influenza, and parents should take a child to a doctor for a correct diagnosis when such signs appear, the head of a Quintana Roo cancer charity said.
Paulina Castillo González, founder and president of the Mexican Association of Help for Children with Cancer (AMANC) in Quintana Roo, said awareness should not be confined to September, the month dedicated to cancer awareness. Parents in particular need to stay informed and alert to possible signs of the disease, she said.
She explained that several general symptoms — especially in blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma — can be confused with dengue or influenza because of inflammation and the immune system’s response.
Shared Symptoms
- Extreme fatigue: a deep tiredness that does not improve with rest and is common both in flu and in the early stages of cancer.
- High temperatures or night sweats without a clear infection.
- Body aches that imitate the general malaise of a viral illness or the joint pain of dengue.
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin.
The main difference is how long the symptoms last. Influenza and dengue symptoms fade within days or weeks, while cancer symptoms worsen or persist for months, Castillo González said.
Other signs that can set cancer apart include weight loss, which a common flu does not cause. Pain and fever from a virus ease over time or with basic medication, while tumor-related pain and fever do not.
Diagnosis and Figures
She said the PET-CT scan — positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography — is the nuclear medicine test that assesses the metabolic activity of cells in order to detect cancer, measure how far it has spread (metastasis) or evaluate a patient’s response to treatment.
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children aged 5 to 14, and Mexico records about 7,000 new cases each year.
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