Awareness Of Childhood Cancer Research Articles

SIOPE proposes amendments for EU clinical trial regulations

Feb 15, 2013, was International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, and on Feb 20, 2013, the European Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) held its yearly high-level meeting at the European Parliament (Brussels, Belgium) to mark this occasion. The focus of the meeting was the proposal by the European Commission (EC) for the European Union (EU) Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR), which is being assessed by the member states and European Parliament. Once passed, the CTR will replace the tight but disproportionately regulated and much-criticised EU Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC (Directive).

How Midcareer Mothers Negotiate a Life

How Midcareer Mothers Negotiate a Life

Delay and causes of delay in the diagnosis of childhood cancer in Africa

Although a few studies have investigated delays in diagnosis and treatment among children and adolescents with cancer, this has never been subject of study in South Africa. Early diagnosis is fundamental as it allows timely treatment and prevents unnecessary complications. Combined prospective and retrospective study of 194 children with cancer at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, diagnosed between 2000 and 2009: 126 patients were included through review of the medical charts and 68 through interviews with the parents. The median total diagnosis delay was 34 days (2-1,826). The median patient delay was 5 days (0-457). The median physician delay was 20 days (0-924). Gender, age or ethnicity of the children, as well as parental level of education did not have a significant influence on the total time to diagnosis. Initial misdiagnoses were frequent (58%). There is considerable delay in diagnosing childhood cancer in the area served by Tygerberg Hospital, due mostly to a physician delay of 20 days on average. The findings of our unit should be correlated with other South African centers. There is a clear need to increase parental awareness of childhood cancer and to intensify the education of nurses and doctors with regard to the warning signs of the disease.

Educating young people about the effects of cancer

Childhood cancer awareness month is from 1st–31st December 2007. CLIC Sargent is the leading children’s cancer charity and in this article their social worker, Christine Bickers, explains her flexible approach to educating the classmates of children and young people with cancer.

International childhood cancer day

Last year, 30 countries took part in International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) and not only raised awareness of childhood cancer but also $100,000 (US) in funds for research. Louise Soanes explains the importance of a worldwide strategy to deal with childhood and adolescent cancer

Campaign fundraiser for childhood cancer awareness month

Campaign fundraiser for childhood cancer awareness month

Relationship of socio-economic status and childhood cancer: an in-hospital cross-sectional study in a developing country

Background: Socioeconomic factors are known to affect health quality, disease occurrence as well as health-seeking behaviors in several ways.Objectives: To determine the influence of socio-economic factors on awareness of cancer, healthseeking behaviors among parents of children with cancer in a developing country and occurrence of cancer using Burkitt lymphoma as index malignancy.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that involved children with cancer seen over a 2-year period in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Information was obtained by interview through administration of a questionnaire and retrieval of clinical data from patients’ case notes.Results: The caregivers of 91 children (46 boys, 45 girls) were interviewed including 86 biological parents. Majority (84.6%) of the children belonged to the low socio -economic classes 3-5; 45 of 86 parents (52.3%), more likely in parents from higher socioeconomic classes, were aware of cancer but only 7 (8.1%) knew it could occur in children. There was no association between Burkitt lymphoma and socio-economic class. Twenty-eight (30.8%) parents of the 91 children visited alternate sources of health care, most commonly traditional healers, followed by religious centers. There was no association between visits to such centers and the parents’ socio-economic status or with presentation with metastatic disease.Conclusions: Awareness of childhood cancer is low among this cohort of parents; their socioeconomic status seems to impact on this level of awareness but not on their health-seeking behaviors for their affected children. Focused health education is needed to increase childhood cancer awareness and appropriate healthseeking behavior among the population studied.Key words: socio-economic; childhood; cancer; health-seeking; behaviour; awareness