Childhood cancers highly treatable, early diagnosis & medical care crucial

Hyderabad: For Haritha, her 5-year-old child’s low energy levels had never really been an alarming factor, until two years back when the child began taking ill with persistent fever and crying continuously. After a lot of visits to various hospitals, her daughter was diagnosed with blood cancer.

Following chemotherapy, which is the mainstay of blood cancer treatment, she is now cancer free. Many childhood cancers are highly treatable provided they are detected on time.

Three-year-old Sadana (name changed) had a history of fever along with pain in the joints and legs but her initial investigations did not arrive at a definitive diagnosis. “Later, her blood count started dropping and she was diagnosed to have acute lymphoblastic leukemia with confirmatory tests,” said Dr Sirisha Rani, senior paediatric haematologist and oncologist, Rainbow hospitals.

“This shattered the family. They couldn’t believe that it does carry more than 80 to 85% chances of cure. She was treated symptomatically and currently she has been off treatment for over two years and is leading a normal life.” Lukemia is the most common paediatric cancer, followed by lymphomas and tumours in the brain and spine.

“Parents should be aware of any changes in their child’s health such as unusual lumps or bumps on the body, persistent headaches or vomiting, weight loss or fatigue.

It is important for parents to remain vigilant about signs and symptoms,” said Dr S Jayanthi, senior paediatric oncologist, Kamineni Hospital. Blood cancers such as leukemia require trained primary health care providers and bone marrow tests for diagnosis, she said.

Many such cancers are treatable if they are diagnosed on time and treated at centres where there are facilities and expertise to manage these children. These include paediatric oncologist, paediatric surgeons, critical care team, paediatric neurology, trained and competent nursing staff, dieticians and psychologists, say experts.