It is a sad and unfortunate reality, which often goes unnoticed, but it is more common and daily than many people imagine, since there are thousands of children and young people reported with cancer, being the leading cause of child death so far known.
The date has been proclaimed to raise awareness and sensitize people about a disease that unfortunately affects from early age and that requires the help of patients and families so that their children have a timely diagnosis and proper treatment.
This ailment includes many different types of tumors that develop in children and adolescents from 0 to 19 years of age, the most common ones are leukemia, brain cancer, lymphoma and solid tumors such as neuroblastoma and Wilms’ tumor.
Cancer is a condition with an abnormal growth of malignant cells that spread inside the body, and until now, there is no way of knowing what causes it, according to the International Childhood Cancer Organization.
Fortunately and thanks to scientific breakthroughs, many of children diagnosed timely with cancer manage to survive, so it represents hope ahead of a too hard reality to face.
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Latin America and the Caribbean have annually reported at least 30,000 children and adolescents under 19 years of age affected with cancer, and of these, nearly 10,000 die.
Meanwhile, in high-income countries, over 80% of cancer-affected children are cured, but in many middle- and low-income countries the cure rate is approximately 20%.
The impact of childhood cancer translates into years of life lost, greater inequalities and economic hardship, which can and must change to a relatively normal existence, with access to education, play activities and, of course, proper treatment to cope with the disease. As long as governments are willing to invest in the fight against childhood cancer, there is a greater chance that children with cancer will survive, especially in underdeveloped countries where the right to health care is impossible for the poorest population.
On the other hand, it is still necessary to invest more in research programs so that science can find the true cause of this terrible disease, and as a society to contribute much more to transform the life and dreams of each little patient.
According to specialists, minors have the advantage of healing much faster and this is associated with their age, immune system and the growth process so natural to them during their early stages of formation.
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