September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness and honor children and survivors affected by pediatric cancer. The Pan American Health Organization states that this is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 14. During this month, learning more about the illness and ways you can support the cause is essential. Here are X facts you should know about childhood cancer.
It’s the Leading Cause of Death Among Children and Adolescents
Approximately 280,000 children between the ages of 0 and 19 are diagnosed with cancer every year worldwide. In the Caribbean and Latin America, about 29,000 children below 19 years are affected by the disease every year, and 10,000 will die. Regarding the rate of cure, children in high-income countries receive better care. About 80% are cured. Meanwhile, those in developing nations are disadvantaged due to a lack of or little patient care. Only 20% of them are cured.
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The Rate of Disease Worldwide nears Half a Million
Globally, about 400,000 children develop cancer annually, and only half of them receive a diagnosis. Nearly 9 out of 10 of these kids live in low and middle-income countries, where access to treatment is difficult. The World Health Organization aims to get a cure rate of 60% in 6 out of 10 children by 2030.
Common Types of Cancers in Children
The National Cancer Institute cites leukaemias, brain and other central nervous systems (CNS) tumors, and lymphomas as the major types of pediatric cancers. Others include neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, rhabdomyosarcoma, retinoblastoma and bone cancer. They occur in kids between the ages of 0 and 19. Besides that, there are over 100 subtypes of childhood cancers.
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Treatment Options of Childhood Cancer is Different to Adults
Pediatric oncology focuses on treating childhood cancers. Treatment depends on the type of cancer and its stage. Common treatment methods include surgery, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and stem cell transplant. Children receive treatment at a children’s cancer center, a hospital or a unit in a hospital that specializes in treating children with cancer.
These hospitals employ healthcare professionals such as social workers, pediatric surgical specialists, rehabilitation specialists, pediatric nurse specialists, radiation oncologists, primary care physicians, psychologists, and pediatric oncologists/hematologists.
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Causes of Childhood Cancers Remain Unknown
Another fact you should know during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is that the causes of childhood cancers are yet to be discovered. About 8 to 10 percent of cancers are caused by genetic mutations, which can be passed from parent to child. Unlike adult cancers, where factors like ageing and exposure to cancer-causing substances can bring about the disease, it’s difficult to ascertain the environmental causes of childhood cancer.
Limited Approval of Drugs for Childhood Cancer Treatment
Between 2009 and 2019, nine of the 11 drugs used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia — the most common childhood cancer — were in and out of shortage. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only 35 drugs for the treatment of childhood cancers. In comparison, 200 cancer drugs have been developed and approved for adults.
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The Survival Rate Has Improved
The mortality rate of childhood and adolescent cancers has significantly declined by half since the 1970s. The childhood cancer survivors rate depends on the type of cancer and factors that can only be attributed to the individual.
In Conclusion
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month helps bring attention to the above and more factors that affect the treatment of the disease. It’s difficult to see young lives impacted by such a disease, but the World Health Organization (WHO) is working with other agencies to enhance childhood cancer research and better treatments to increase cancer survival rates and reduce the impact of childhood cancer.
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