This day was established 21 years ago by the World Confederation of Parents Whose Children Have Cancer.
According to statistics, more than 200,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the world! And it’s only official! Such diseases are very dangerous! Even in Europe, infant mortality from cancer is up to 57% in some regions!
“Inequalities in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer in the European Region”. This is the name of the report prepared by the WHO European Office on the eve of this day. The report reports on disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of children and examines trends in the occurrence and treatment of such diseases. It is reported that in developed countries, thanks to new technologies for diagnosis and early treatment, up to 80% of cases of childhood cancer can be cured. Alas, only high-income countries can do this.
The main problems in the treatment of childhood cancer are the lack of a sufficient amount of medicines (due to which parents themselves are forced to look for funds and medicines to treat their children), the lack of children’s oncology clinics, poor training of doctors and the lack of a base for early diagnosis (for this reason, the correct diagnosis is made very late or not installed at all).
Therefore, the main goal of holding the International Day of the Child with Cancer is to raise the awareness of pediatricians and other medical workers, the development of the entire healthcare sector and the responsibility of society in the fight against childhood oncology.
It is important for parents to know that viral infections such as the Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, and malaria are factors in childhood cancer. Children’s cancer is accompanied by many alarming symptoms – fever, persistent headache, pain in the bones and joints, weight loss.
The task of adults is to stop the growth of childhood cancer! After all, without children, humanity simply has no future.
