ICCD was first launched in 2002, and since then
the organization is continuing to provide support through global networks and
leading institutions.
‘A chance to live a life free from cancer should not be an accident of geography. There is absolutely nothing scarier than being told that your child has cancer. However, what is more tragic is also knowing there might be a cure for your child's cancer. BUT, that is not available for your child.’
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), every year, more than 200,000 children are diagnosed with cancer - a
disease that touches lives of countless families and communities in all over
the world.
With all the access to state of the art
technology, more than 80 percent of children diagnosed with cancer have been estimated to
survive, living full and happy lives, whereas it is only in lower and middle-income countries that over 90
percent of their childhood cancer population die due to the improper resources.
Childhood cancer
Cancer which arises in children before the age
of 18 years is called childhood cancer. In general, leukemia accounts for about
a third of all childhood cancers.
Lymphomas and tumor of the central
nervous system are some of the other common childhood cancers.
Neuroblastoma, nephroblastoma, medulloblastoma,
and
retinoblastoma are some of the tumors that
exclusively occur in children.
Most childhood cancers can initially present with non-specific signs
and symptoms, which can later lead to end-stage diagnoses.
In some of the high-income countries, children
are usually subjected to close parental watch, and so childhood cancer has more
chance of getting detected here in developed countries, whereas in low-income countries,
there are certain additional barriers to early detection, and they are poor
access to health services and inadequate diagnostic facilities.
Facts
- Annually
around 200,000 parents have to face the reality of their child having
cancer.
- Cancer
remains to be the No.1
cause of death in children across all ages, ethnic and socio-economic groups. It is
responsible for more deaths than all other diseases combined.
- Every
day nearly, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer.
- The
average age of a child diagnosed with cancer is six.
- Even
though overall survival rate has increased from 10 percent to 90 percent
in the last 50 years, the survival rate for rare cancers is still low.
- One in six children with cancer will not survive
- Even
though if the cure rate has improved, the incidence of childhood cancer
has still been steadily increasing over the last few decades, i.e., from
about 13 children per 100,000 in 1975 to over 17 children per 100,000
since 2005.
- More
than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year.
- Unfortunately,
in the last 20 years, only 4 cancer treatments have been specially
developed and approved for children.
- It
has been estimated that nearly 60 percent of childhood cancer patients
have to face long-term side effects such as infertility, heart failure or
secondary cancers when they grow up.
- Children
with AIDS have an increased risk of developing certain cancers,
predominantly non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Kaposi sarcoma.
- According
to International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2015,
the reported worldwide incidence of childhood cancer is increasing, from
165,000 new cases annually to 215,000 cases for children 14 years and
younger and 85,000 new cases for 15-19-year-olds have been reported.
How to Help
- Make
a donation
- Start
a fundraiser
- Speak
up for children with cancer
Good health of our children is our
responsibility as a parent, as an individual, and as a human being. So, let's
just not stand there,
but help these children achieve their dreams of growing up and changing the world.
Their vitality is the heartbeat of our society, a shared passion that can unite
us as our future as a global community depends on it.
References :- International Childhood Cancer Day: 15 February 2017 - (http://www.who.int/cancer/iccd_2017/en/)
- International Childhood Cancer - (http://www.internationalchildhoodcancerday.org/)
- International Childhood Cancer Day: Questions & Answers - (http://www.who.int/cancer/media/news/Childhood_cancer_day/en/)
Source: Medindia