The management of
Children Living With Cancer Foundation has expressed concern that most
children living with cancer die due to lack of support system and proper
health care, rather than from the cancer itself.
The Founder of CLWCF,
Mrs. Nneka Nwobbi, said ignorance of the fact that children could have
cancer was another factor that increased the rate of mortality among
young sufferers.
She said, “If one
doesn’t know that there can be cancer in children, then one wouldn’t
want to suspect that that is the problem with the child and the cancer
keeps growing. Consequently, most times, it is discovered too late.”
Nwobbi disclosed, “More
than 6,000 children under the age of 12 are diagnosed with cancer every
year, out of which only 40 per cent receive any form of treatment. Of
that, approximately 10 per cent go into remission and 25 per cent are
able to continue with the required follow-up treatment.”
She regretted that the
cure rate in Nigeria was less than 20 per cent, as against the 80 to 90
per cent in advanced countries, attributing the success to the level of
awareness of childhood cancer in such countries.
As September has been
designated worldwide as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and people do
different things to mark the day, Nwobbi said CLWCF had scheduled some
activities for 22nd of the month.
She said, “This year’s
walk is titled Walkathon and would hold on September 22. It is to create
awareness on childhood cancer as well as raise funds to purchase a cold
centrifuge (blood separator) for the Lagos University Teaching
Hospital.”
She stressed that though the hospital had one, it only had the capacity to separate only six bags of blood at a time.
She said the machine was
very essential, “as it separates blood into its various components and
costs between N7.5m and N10m for a 12-bag separator, which we intend to
get.”
She disclosed that fund raised in 2010 was used to equip the children oncology ward at LUTH.
She said, “Currently,
there is only one nurse in the oncology ward who has specialised
training, while the patient-oncology ratio exceeds the recommended
15:1.”
She lamented that there were only 24 beds in LUTH dedicated to pediatric oncology.
“For now, children on
admission for cancer treatment pays N6,000 per week, apart from other
costs for drugs and laboratory tests,” she said.
Nwobbi therefore urged the government to make admission for childhood cancer patients free, as obtained in advanced countries.
“The government should also encourage
pharmaceutical companies in the country to produce cytotoxic drugs, as
do India, which manufactures its own drugs and thus makes them cheap,”
she said.
Writen & Edited by
Yetunde Brown
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