PRATYASHA

Cancer Children's Welfare Society. Reg. No. T829/2003, Cancer children's support Group.

Cancer in Children

Cancer in children is rare but is emerging in these days alarmingly. It is quite different from cancers affecting adults. Kerala has achieved high standards in primary healthcare. With high level of family planning acceptance the average number of children in a family being two it is important that the children should get prompt and meticulous medical attention especially when they develop dreaded diseases like cancer.

The common malignancies in children are hematological malignancies (leukemia and lymphomas). Most of the cancers in children are curable if they are detected early and treated properly. The probability of survival from childhood cancer varies. In general it is closely related to the levels of affluence and highest survival rates are noticed in the wealthiest and western countries and lowest survival in poor countries. This is partly due to the expensive treatment and of medical facilities and partly due to the detection of the disease in an advanced stage.

With the aim of providing the best available treatment in cancer, a comprehensive cancer care centre is established at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. This centre has started one of the first pediatric oncology services in the country and is now poised for a great leap in expansion and development. About 400 new cases upto the age of 14 years are registered in the division annually.

Cancer - a crisis

The diagnosis of cancer in a child is a family crisis. The detection of a childhood cancer is perceived as a death sentence for the child. They see nightmares and undergo severe mental torture once it is detected. They will not be able to adjust to such a crisis.

The children may become scared of, for the peculiar circumstances prevailing in the home consequent to the diagnosis. Further, when they go through the hospital wards they may get frightened by seeing many kids with baldheads, especially when they think that this is going to happen to them. This fear gets doubled when friends and relatives suddenly start behaving sympathetically towards them, and they may even get confused thereafter.