Group items tagged

important part of the digestive system is the small intestine, which is lined with villi (say: vil-eye).

celiac (say: see-lee-ak)

someone with celiac disease, the body starts damaging and destroying the villi. Without villi, the body can't absorb vitamins

and nutrients from food.

Gluten

Many kids are diagnosed with it when they're between 6 months and 2 years old. It makes sense because, at this time kids are getting their first taste of gluten in foods. For some people, the problems occur gradually and the symptoms may be terrible one week and not as bad the next. Because of this, some people aren't diagnosed with celiac disease until they're older. The problem is chronic, which means that although symptoms may come and go, people who have celiac disease will always have it. Someone with celiac disease may feel tired and could be irritable. Some also have skin rashes and mouth sores. The problem is sometimes mistaken for other digestive problems called inflammatory bowel disease or lactose intolerance. And in some cases, a kid won't have any symptoms and then will all of a sudden start having problems during a time of stress, such as after an injury.

A kid with asthma may wheeze (a whistling sound when he or she breathes), cough, and feel tightness in the chest.

Asthma is more common than you might think. As many as 6 million kids in the United States have it

Kids who have asthma should try to avoid things that can cause their airways to tighten. But some triggers — like cats, colds, and chalk dust — can't always be avoided. That's why kids who are sensitive to those things must manage their asthma by taking medication.

Over time

die. Unlike these

cancer cells just continue to grow

where they keep growing and

they're

and divide out of control and

don't die when

supposed to

normal cells

Sometimes cancer cells break away from the original tumor and

travel to other areas of the body,

can go on to form new tumors. This is how cancer spreads. The

spread of a tumor to a new place in the body is called metastasis

You can't catch it from someone else who has it — cancer isn't caused by germs,

unhealthy habits, especially cigarette smoking or drinking too much alcohol every day, can make you a lot more likely to get cancer when you become an adult

The sooner cancer is found and treatment begins, the better someone's chances are for a full recovery and cure.

Cancer is treated with surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation — or sometimes a combination of these treatments. The choice of treatment depends on:

Cancer is actually a group of many related diseases that all have to do with cells. Cells are the very small units that make up all living things, including the human body. There are billions of cells in each person's body

Surgery is the oldest form of treatment for cancer

Chemotherapy (say: kee-mo-ther-uh-pee) is the use of anti-cancer medicines (drugs) to treat cancer

Radiation (say: ray-dee-ay-shun) therapy uses high-energy waves, such as X-rays (invisible waves that can pass through most parts of the body), to damage and destroy cancer cells