• Kenya on Wednesday joined the rest of the world in commemorating the Childhood Cancer Day, 2023.
• The day is marked on February 15 to raise awareness about childhood cancers and to extend support for children with cancer, the survivors and their families.
The World Health Organisation has called on countries including Kenya to invest in early detection and effective therapy and medicines for treatment of childhood cancers.
Kenya on Wednesday joined the rest of the world in commemorating the Childhood Cancer Day, 2023.
The day is marked annually on February 15 to raise awareness about childhood cancers and to extend support for children with cancer, the survivors and their families.
The WHO has raised concern that only 20 per cent of children with cancer in Kenya survive compared to more than 80 per cent in developed countries.
“The likelihood of surviving a diagnosis of childhood cancer depends on the country in which the child lives,” WHO said.
The global health agency lists delay in diagnosis, inability to obtain an accurate diagnosis and inaccessible therapy as some of the reasons for lower survival rates.
Others include abandonment of treatment, death from toxicity (side effects) and avoidable relapse.
“Improving access to childhood cancer care, including to essential medicines and technologies, is highly cost effective, feasible and can improve survival in all settings,” WHO said.
Dr Catherine Muendo, a pediatric oncologist at Kenyatta National Hospital said despite early diagnosis in some children, some parents opt to seek alternative medical options such as herbalists as opposed to conventional treatment.
This, she says, is due to the deep rooted beliefs, myths and misconceptions about cancer by communities.
As a result, such children are brought to hospital late leading to poor treatment and survival outcomes.
A recent report by the National Cancer Institute shows that Leukaemia account for the highest childhood cancer burden in Kenya followed by brain tumours and lymphosas.
Data also shows that seven in every 10 childhood cancer cases are at advanced stages, with the age group with the highest incidences of childhood cancers being zero to 14 years.
Childhood cancers are curable if diagnosis and detection is done early and early treatment initiated.