Every MINUTE, 3 children are diagnosed with cancer. Estimated 1,00,470 new cases of cancer are diagnosed among children from birth to 14 years. The most common types of cancer diagnosed in
children ages 0 to 14 years are leukaemia, brain- central nervous system (CNS) tumours, and lymphomas. More than 80% of children with cancer are cured. Children’s cancers are not always treated like adult cancers. Childhood cancer cannot generally be prevented or identified through screening. Cancer occurs in people of all ages and can affect any part of the body. It begins with genetic change in single cells, that then grow into a mass (or tumour), that invades other parts of the body and causes harm and death if left untreated. Unlike cancer in adults, the vast majority of childhood cancers do not have a known cause. Many studies have sought to identify the causes of childhood cancer, but very few cancers in children are caused by environmental or lifestyle factors. Cancer prevention efforts in children should focus on behaviours that will prevent the child from developing preventable cancer as an adult.
Common treatments include: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplant. The doctors and other health professionals have special training and expertise to give complete care to children. Specialists at a children’s cancer center are likely to include primary carepediatric oncologists/haematologists, pediatric surgical specialists, radiation oncologists, rehabilitation specialists, pediatric nurse specialists, social workers, and psychologists. Its A Curable Entity. Avoidable deaths from childhood cancers in result from lack of diagnosis, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, obstacles to accessing care, abandonment of treatment, death from toxicity, relapse and avoidable relapse. Improving access to childhood cancer care, including to essential medicines and technologies, is highly cost effective, feasible and can improve survival in all settings. Lack of awareness is the biggest hurdle.
Because it is generally not possible to prevent cancer in children, the most effective strategy to reduce the
burden of cancer in children and improve outcomes is to focus on a prompt, correct diagnosis followed by effective, evidence-based therapy with tailored supportive care.
Early Diagnosis: When identified early, cancer is more likely to respond to effective treatment and result in a greater probability of survival, less suffering, and often less expensive and less intensive treatment. Significant improvements can be made in the lives of children with cancer by detecting cancer early and avoiding delays in care. A correct diagnosis is essential to treat children with cancer because each cancer requires a specific treatment regimen that may include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.
Early diagnosis consists of 3 components:
- 1. Awareness of symptoms by families and primary care providers;
- 2. Accurate and timely clinical evaluation, diagnosis, and staging (determining the extent to which a cancer has spread); and
- 3. Access to prompt treatment
Early diagnosis is relevant in all settings and improves survival for many cancers. Programmes to promote early and correct diagnosis have been successfully implemented in countries of all income levels, often through the collaborative efforts of governments, civil society and nongovernmental organizations, with vital roles played by parent groups. Childhood cancer is associated with a range of warning symptoms, such as fever, severe and persistent headaches, bone pain and weight loss, that can be detected by families and by trained primary health-care providers. Recent advances in medical sciences, Cancer is not a Death Statement. Early Diagnosis – Prompt Treatment is the key for better survival rates of childhood cancer