The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launches campaign to raise awareness of childhood cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although the prognosis for treatment in children is high, survival rates in the region range from 20 to 80 percent due to delays in diagnosis, lack of specialized care and limited access to cancer drugs.
This PAHO campaign at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Childhood Cancer International aims to alert parents, caregivers and health professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean to the early signs of the most common cancers in children and young people to improve timely diagnosis and treatment outcome.
Launched on the eve of International Children’s Cancer Day, the campaign, ‘Support Kids with Cancer’, aims to raise awareness of the most common childhood cancers, including lymphoblastic leukaemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and retinoblastoma. Some common symptoms include fatigue, unexplained bruising, lumps or swelling, loss of appetite, persistent headache, dizziness and vomiting, and bone pain.
“In Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 29,000 children and youth are diagnosed with cancer each year,” said Anselm Hennis, director of the Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Department at PAHO. “While the overall regional survival rate for childhood cancer is currently 55 percent, it varies significantly from country to country.”
In lower-income countries in the region, children and adolescents have only a 20 percent survival rate, while those in higher-income countries have much higher survival rates, up to 80 percent. This is mainly due to delays in diagnosis, lack of specialized care, limited access to and availability of essential cancer medicines and preventable deaths from infections.
“While childhood cancer cannot be prevented, most types can be cured if detected early,” Hennis said. “Providing parents and carers with the information they need to raise the alarm is critical to ensuring timely diagnosis.”
The campaign features an animated video and song highlighting the symptoms of common childhood cancers in an easy-to-remember manner. It also provides information on what to do in case of a troubling symptom.
“The campaign is an excellent way to provide parents, carers, teachers and primary care providers with crucial and comprehensive information about the signs of childhood cancer,” said Daniel Bastardo, manager of the St Jude Together program for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
childhood cancer
In Latin America and the Caribbean, one in 360 children and adolescents is diagnosed with cancer each year, yet less than half of all countries in the region (46 percent) have national policies for early cancer detection, including childhood cancer.
The most common types are acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms tumor, retinoblastoma, and low-grade glioma, which account for up to 60 percent of all childhood cancers.
“The six most common childhood cancers have unique characteristics, with detectable early signs and symptoms, and are highly curable with proven therapies,” notes Marcela Zubieta, head of the Latin America Network at Childhood Cancer International. “That is why it is so important that parents receive information through this campaign.”
International Childhood Cancer Day is a global campaign that takes place every February 15 to raise awareness of childhood cancer and support children and young people with cancer, survivors and their families.