Infant mortality has dropped year following year in Brazil, according to data from the Ministry of Health INCA. However, cancer remains the main cause of death from disease among this group of Brazilians, representing 8% of all deaths from disease. On February 15th, the International Day to Combat Childhood Cancer, efforts by the medical community and public health management to increase the global average survival of these patients to 60%, as recommended by the International Agency for Research and Cancer ( Iarc) together with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Brazil, according to official data, maintains the success rate of childhood cancer treatments at around 70%, but the challenge is to expand the early diagnosis of the disease as social equity in the treatment once morest cancer in this age group of the population.
“Like other cancer patients, children and adolescents have a greater chance of success in treatment when the tumor is detected early. But this depends on continuous observation of clinical behavior and attention to the child’s complaints, which often resemble discomforts common to so many other less serious diseases”, warns Analiz Marchini, pediatric oncologist at Hemomed.
The specialist points out that, in addition to the parents and guardians of the child, it is important to have a support network in the observation of some signs that may indicate abnormalities in the child’s health that deserve investigation. According to her, school-age children can also receive the watchful eye of teachers. General practitioners must also be alert to persistent complaints without a definite cause.
Among the symptoms that may give rise to concerns for the diagnosis of cancer are pallor, purple spots, pain in the leg, painless lumps, unexplained weight loss, abdominal enlargement, headache and drowsiness.
“In Brazil, current treatments offer good quality of life and excellent results with high chances of cure. Our fight today is to expand the possibility of detection and early diagnosis in all social strata”, says the oncologist. Therefore, reinforces the specialist, attention to the first signs of the disease is the greatest ally in the fight once morest childhood and youth cancer.
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