September Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
September is childhood cancer awareness month. And learning that a child displays the disease is no easy task for families. The official color representing childhood cancer awareness is gold.
However, 375,000 children with cancer have made it to adulthood in the US.
The American Cancer Society says that cancer variants in children are different from those affecting adults, as they represent cell DNA changes, whereas they’re not linked to environmental risk factors.
Moreover, childhood cancer variants do respond to chemotherapy, however the treatments might cause side effects, whereas they would require follow-ups.
The American Cancer Society also stated that forms of treatment evolved over the years, as approximately 80 percent of children suffering from cancer were able to survive nowadays five years more, in comparison to the 1970s, when the mortality rate was 58 percent.
Nevertheless, survival rates vary. The specific variant of cancer plays a key role in this, as cancer is a leading cause of death in children, besides car crashes.
Moreover, the American Cancer Society also stated that:
“in the US, 15,780 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed with cancer every year; approximately 1/4 of them will not survive the disease.”
Therefore, their aim is to put an emphasis on the variants of cancer which affect children, and on survivorship-related issues.
They also said that
“it takes a comprehensive approach to combatting childhood cancer through funding research, advocating for policies that advance the childhood cancer agenda and improve access to quality care.”
The American Cancer Society reported that research was essential so that advances could be made in childhood cancer. Their full-time researchers monitor childhood cancer instances, as they engage in finding further options and treatments for cancer sufferers, and make the ones already available better.
The ACS’s aim is to offer support to children suffering from cancer and to their families, via health professional training.
Moreover, the American Cancer Society does offer information regarding how parents ought to manage a child’s cancer diagnosis, how to understand the healthcare system, how to offer the proper nutrition for children suffering from cancer etc.
It could finally be pointed out that, starting with September, one could commit to offering cancer awareness support all year.
Photo Credits nyccbf.com
