I recently came across a three-year old boy from Bannu in a wheelchair holding a toy. There were tears on his face. Startled, I asked his father why he was crying. He told me the child’s eyes get like this because of the position of tumours inside his head, and that the condition was getting worse.
He then told me his story of going to different doctors and local hospitals in Bannu in search of treatment for his ailing child. The doctors kept treating the child for different suspected illnesses, including infections, but the possibility of cancer never crossed their minds.
After a few weeks, they stumbled on a doctor who suspected cancer after which the family travelled several hours to reach a specialised cancer hospital. The father was full of hope once the treatment started. He could see a pathway. Chemotherapy and radiation gave him the hope that his son had a fighting chance.
His story, like many others, included a series of misdiagnosis at local/primary healthcare level. This could be because cancers in children are less common than in adults. According to the Punjab Cancer Registry Report 2022, 92.4 per cent reported cases of cancer are related to adults and 7.6pc to children.
Talking to this person, I realised that we need to develop an ecosystem to support children fighting cancer and give them a chance to live their best lives. We need to raise awareness among parents as well as healthcare professionals about symptoms and diagnosis of childhood cancers in a timely manner.
Parents must watch out for symptoms like unexplained fever, changes in eye or unusual reflection, frequent infections, lumps, bone or back aches or stomach ache that do not go away, unexplained bruises, and blood in urine.
Any unusual symptom deserves to be assessed by a qualified doctor without delay.
MARIAM KHAN
LAHORE
