At least one family in the world receives the news that their child has cancer every day, according to the Children’s Cancer Research Fund over 15,000 children are diagnosed with this disease each year.
According to a report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are an estimated 10,590 new Childhood Cancer cases on 2018, from newborns to 14 year-old patients; and around 1,180 children have died from this disease.
“Cancer is still the main cause of death in children worldwide” (NIH)
Among all the types of cancer that children may develop, the most common are: leukemia, limbic encephalitis, lymphomas and tumors in the central nervous system. Rare cases of liver cancer on children from 0 to 3 years of age have also been diagnosed.
In light of the estimates mentioned above, the September is known as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. For 29 days, different institutions from all over the world will perform multiple fundraising activities that contribute to research and improvement of treatments for this disease, at the same time, they will educate people on this subject.
Also, there will be meetings with the purpose of establishing plans, strategies or laws that help to improve this situation. An example would be the one formed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and ministry’s of the region, where systems will be established to reduce inequalities and increase access to diagnostic and treatment.
The “Golden Bow” is used to show support towards these patients, this symbolizes the strength of those boys and girls who are suffering from this terrible disease, comparing it to the precious metal with the same name: gold.
For this reason, September is a month devoted to showing support and solidarity, but also for creating awareness of a disease that like many others, could happen at any time and therefore we have to be alert for the early detection of symptoms, especially in children since the highest chances of healing come from a timely diagnosis.
With cancer, as with any other disease, the most important thing is to be informed and to visit a trusted doctor after any kind of unusual change in the body. Only a specialist has the possibility to indicate with certainty the state of health of your family members.
At Fundahígado we encourage our readers to join international campaigns to help create awareness of pediatric diseases. The best form of prevention is education, so we invite you to learn more about international awareness campaigns on our site such as Finding Missing Millions and NASH Day.
