KIDS SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE: BRAIN TUMORS NEED NOT BE DEADLY.

Byline: David R. Baker Staff Writer

As her mother aimed a camera, 10-year-old Amber Milliken pulled up the back of her hair Saturday to show where doctors had cut away her tumor. So did Nicole DeGaetano, 16, standing next to her.

``I'm going to get the backs of their heads,'' said Susan Milliken of Glendale, sounding excited as she peered through the camera lens. ``They've got the same scar.''

Amber and Nicole had earned the right to be so nonchalant. Like most of the 150 people gathered Saturday for a picnic at the University of California, Los Angeles, the girls had already faced down one of life's most terrifying threats - childhood brain tumors. And they had emerged alive and strong, a point that organizers hoped the picnic would emphasize.

``A brain tumor is not a devastating diagnosis,'' said Dr. Jorge Lazareff, director of UCLA's pediatric brain tumor program. ``There is hope for the future.''

Brain tumors occur in about 2,000 to 2,200 children nationwide each year. And while survival rates vary, depending on the kind of tumor, most children survive if their tumors are detected early, said Dr. May Tao, the program's co-director.

Spotting the growths can be tricky, since more common childhood maladies also cause symptoms such as vomiting, headaches or drowsiness.

``They turn out to be something real, but it's hard to tell at first,'' Tao said.

At first, doctors thought Matthew Howard's headaches and vomiting were caused by stress, perhaps related to his family's recent move from Virginia. But magnetic resonance imaging showed a tumor close to the 5-year-old boy's pituitary gland.

The tumor was stubborn, growing back after six rounds of surgery. But after a recent stretch of radiation therapy, it now appears to be shrinking. Still, the constant check-ups and treatment have been hard on Matthew, now 13.

``You just have to take this one step at a time,'' the Westlake Village teen-ager said. ``I sure hope it's going to go away.''

Like Matthew, Nicole survived by concentrating on the good things in her life. Her tumor is gone, removed through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

``Don't have a bad thought in your head,'' the Chatsworth teen said. ``I had a beautiful horse, a million friends, and I had to focus on that.''

Her mother, Michele DeGaetano, resisted the urge to cry. She clung tight to the belief that her daughter would pull through.

``Even though she had cancer, I never thought she'd be less than perfect in the end,'' she said, an attitude she now attributes to ``stupidity and strong optimism.''