Posts by tag
childhood cancer
Childhood cancer survivors need younger monitoring for cardiovascular disease
Survivors of childhood cancer are at a significantly higher risk of death following a major cardiovascular event than the general public. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology 27 February, found risk of death after…
New options to protect long-term health of children treated for cancer
Childhood cancer is considered a success story of modern medicine, with more than 90% of children now surviving long-term in high-income countries, up from just 10% 65 years ago. Yet many children who survive their cancer go on to experience…
CAR T cells v chemo for childhood leukaemia: are we ready for the next step?
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, genetically engineered immune cells targeted to attack cancers, are one of the most exciting breakthrough cancer treatments in oncology today. After decades of incremental development, its clinical efficacy was shown in 2010, with the…
Food insecurity: Why screening for access to nutrition should be part of cancer treatment everywhere
Sixteen-year-old Sahil Bacchav had just finished his tenth grade exams when he developed terrible headaches and a feeling that his nose was blocked. He was referred to King Edward Memorial Hospital, a municipal hospital in Mumbai, where he had his…
Childhood cancer: let’s close this equity gap of haves and have nots
Trying to improve the survival chances for children with cancer is the day-to-day work of Kidzcan in Zimbabwe. Support and advocacy groups in Western countries supplement the work of their health services. By and large, we are those services. We…
Surviving childhood cancer in Africa: helping families stick with the treatment plan is key
Faced with poverty, low maternal education and fears about treatment effects, many families in sub-Saharan Africa are abandoning cancer treatment for children and young people, harming chances of survival. In Kenya and Zambia, for instance, treatments for childhood cancers are…
Surviving childhood cancer: how we standardise care across Europe
When Lejla Kameric’s daughter was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the twelve-year-old had to get through lumbar punctures without pain relief. “15 years ago in Bosnia, painful procedures and diagnostic activities were done without anaesthesia,” Kameric recalls. “Still now, young doctors…