3,500 Pinoy kids develop cancer every year

Around 3,500 Filipino children are diagnosed with cancer every year but so much is still left undone to ensure that they get proper treatment and prevent other children from developing the disease, experts said yesterday.

Dr. Ma. Victoria Abesamis, president of the Philippine Society of Pediatric Oncologists (PSPO), said the practice of pediatric oncology in the country is still very young despite the huge number of Filipino children who develop cancer.

She said the PSPO was founded in 2001 with nine original members.

"Now, we have 24 members. It’s a big improvement but it’s still very small. There are still many cities in the country that do not have pediatric oncologists," Abesamis said.

She noted that the "spectrum of cancer between children and adults" is very different, primarily because child patients and their families need a more compassionate approach.

The term childhood cancer patients pertain to those aged 20 and below who develop this disease.

The PSPO intends to step up its anti-childhood cancer program, "My Child Matters," through a 20,000-euro (about P1.2 million) grant from the International Union Against Cancer, the United States’ National Cancer Institute, and Sanofi-Aventis.

Last year, the Philippines received 50,000 euros from these organizations.

For unknown reasons, lymphoblastic leukemia and retinoblastoma or cancer of the eye are the most common types of childhood cancer in the country, accounting for 60 percent of cases.

According to Dr. Julius Lecciones, executive director of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) and coordinator of the "My Child Matters" program, 80 percent of childhood cancer is curable but only 1,000 of the 3,500 cancer cases each year get treatment.

"The global campaign against childhood cancer started last year. It is a long-neglected group," he said.

Worldwide, an estimated 160,000 children develop cancer annually.

Lecciones maintained that "geographic and socio-economic inequities" are getting in the way of saving cancer-stricken children.

"Those in rural and isolated communities receive less and lower quality health services. The poor also do not receive health services due to inaccessibility and non-affordability," he said.

A child with leukemia needs about P185,890 worth of anti-leukemia drugs. This amount does not include other expenses such as hospital stay and other medicines.

Lecciones said a majority of hospitals in the country do not have a pediatric oncology referral unit.