Childhood Cancer
About childhood cancer
- Childhood cancer is much less common than adult cancer.
- Children develop different types of cancers than adults and cancers tend to appear in different parts of the body to those in adults and can respond differently to treatment.
- About a third of children with cancer have leukaemia, a cancer of the blood or bone marrow.
- Cancer takes a child’s strength, can destroy organs and bones and weakens the body’s defences against other illnesses.
- With access to the best treatment 75% of childhood cancers can be cured. However, there are many parts of the world where few children have access to any form of treatment.
The impact
- Childhood cancer can have a devastating effect on all concerned: the young patient, the parents, siblings and carers.
- A diagnosis of childhood cancer tests families physically, emotionally, socially and financially.
Treatment
- Most childhood cancers can be cured with prompt and effective treatment. Research into treatment and causes has had a huge impact – the outcomes are increasingly positive.
- The international survival rate for children diagnosed with leukaemia and subsequently treated is approximately 70%.
- When timely and appropriate treatment is available, the chances of children not only surviving, but prospering, are very good indeed.
The Situation in Russia and Former Soviet Union
- Childhood Leukaemia – the treatment and eradication – is not a part of government policy.
- The allocation of Russian budget resources has not been channelled to this vital cause.
- The percentage of children in Russia who make a full recovery is significantly lower than in Western Europe.
- Misdiagnosis, improper treatment and lack of resources can mean that for many children the diagnosis is a death sentence.
- There is no domestic production of the required pharmaceuticals which necessitates expensive imports.
- Moscow and St Petersburg are the centres of treatment for the majority of countries of the former Soviet Union. Away from these centres misdiagnosis and improper treatment can drastically increase the unnecessary mortality rate.
