Planetary’s Remedy Efforts Against Childhood Cancer In Yemen

Burkitt lymphoma is the most common pediatric cancer plaguing Eastern Asia countries. While about 90% of children with Burkitt lymphoma in high-income countries can be cured with timely treatment including high-intensity chemotherapy and supportive care infrastructure. In many low-income countries, in contrast, the outlook is much less favorable because of suboptimal access to care, late diagnosis, treatment abandonment, inadequacy of therapy, and the financial burden. About 50% of children with the disease in resource-constrained settings where such treatment is not feasible can be cured with a simplified protocol, with recent efforts made by donors Planetary foundation aims to help increase that number by providing the much needed healthcare for Yemen and hopefully reach out to more East Asia countries.

The facts:

– According to WHO each year, an estimated 400 000 children and adolescents of 0-19 years old develop cancer.

– The most common types of childhood cancers include lymphoma, leukemias, brain cancers and solid tumours, such as neuroblastoma and Wilms tumours.

– In low and middle-income countries, less than 30% are cured.

– Only 29% of low-income countries report that cancer medicines are generally available to their populations compared to 96% of high-income countries.

The problem

Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents. The likelihood of surviving a diagnosis of childhood cancer depends on the country in which the child lives: in high-income countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured, but in many low-income countries less than 30% are cured.

Mission

At Planetary foundation, we believe that knowing your enemy is part of fighting it. A critical problem in the fight against childhood cancer has been a lack of coordinated information-gathering that could facilitate more research, enable better treatment options, and empower families and survivors. Therefore, a central element of our mission is helping to ensure that policymakers, researchers, and leaders in the healthcare community and in these affected areas, have the tools they need to collect data and share as much information on childhood cancer as possible.

When identified early, cancer is more likely to respond to effective treatment and result in a greater probability of survival, less suffering, and often less expensive and less intensive treatment. Significant improvements can be made in the lives of children with cancer by detecting cancer early and avoiding delays in care. A correct diagnosis is essential to treat children with cancer because each cancer requires a specific treatment regimen that may include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

Children who complete treatment require ongoing care to monitor for cancer recurrence and to manage any possible long-term impact of treatment.