On Air Archive

Our thanks to the International Union Against Cancer for bringing their campaign to our attention and for the use of some of the support information below. We wish them every success with their mission to reduce the numbers of children who die from childhood cancers each year. 

Childhood Cancer Facts: Childhood Cancer Is Rare But Highly Treatable

Four decades ago, here in the UK a diagnosis of cancer would strike fear into the hearts of those receiving the news, today thanks to significant medical advances in treatment and care many cancers can be successfully treated if detected and treated early.  Each year, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer across the world

In the 1990s, age-standardised incidence rates were 140 per million for European children (0–14 years); ASR rates for the 52 countries in the 1998 IARC study on the international incidence of childhood cancer have a rough average of 120 per million.

In the UK and across Europe, 5-year survival rates improved from 44% for children diagnosed in the 1970s to 64% for children diagnosed in the 1980s and 74% for children diagnosed in the 1990s.

Improved survival rates are largely due to better treatment and improved quality of care. Chemotherapy was introduced for the treatment of childhood leukaemia in the 1940s and has been incorporated into treatment regimes that previously relied on surgery or radiotherapy for other common childhood cancers.

Sadly The Same Cannot Be Said About The Developing World…
80% of children with cancer live in developing countries. They are often diagnosed too late or not diagnosed at all.

Without access to life-saving treatment, more than one in two of these children diagnosed with cancer will die.

Treating childhood cancer doesn't have to be expensive. By developing treatment regimes that take account of a country's medical facilities and providing proper training and advice to local doctors, we can make great progress on relatively limited funds.

The international community needs to recognise the plight of children with cancer as a priority.

HIV/AIDS remains a critical priority for the health of children in sub-Saharan Africa, but cancer is emerging as a major cause of childhood death in Asia, Central and South America, northwest Africa and the Middle East, where fewer children are now dying from preventable infectious diseases.

A coordinated strategy by the global cancer control community – one that combines innovative science and sound public health policies – can save a large proportion of the 90,000 young lives lost every year.

Knowing The Symptoms
One of the key elements of the International Union Against Cancer’ campaign is to highlight the importance of recognising the symptoms of childhood cancer and getting early diagnosis and treatment. The prevalence and types of childhood cancer differ between populations and ages, however in around 85 per cent of all cases, one or more of the following symptoms are usually present:

Continued, unexplained weight loss and fever

Pallor

Headaches, often with early-morning vomiting

Unusual swelling or abdominal mass

Swollen head

Development of excessive bruising or bleeding

Sudden changes in balance or behaviour

White glow in the eye.

Further Help & Support
Here in the UK we have a number of fantastic charitable organisations who provide authoritative help and support for parents and children affected by cancer here are details on a number of the leading organisations

Macmillan Cancer Relief website can be accessed via www.macmillan.org.uk

To log on to the Cancer Bacup site visit www.cancerbacup.org.uk//Cancer 

Leukaemia in Childhood Trust (CLIC) and Sargent Cancer Care for Children merged in January 2005 to become the UK's leading children's cancer charity. Both have a rich history of excellent care and support to access their website click here. http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/

The Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on teenagers and young adults diagnosed with cancer to access their site log on to www.teenagecancertrust.org/main/