E-Paper
Defying pain of cancer with smile
THEY DEFY the pain of cancer and have the courage to laugh like other normal children of their age. This is an extraordinary tale of the children suffering from cancer. They have taken the ailment in their stride, to give the message that cancer can be beaten. The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at the Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital has given a new hope to hundreds of parents from Madhya Pradhesh, Bihar, eastern UP and Nepal, whose life became shattered after their children were diagnosed with cancer.
THEY DEFY the pain of cancer and have the courage to laugh like other normal children of their age. This is an extraordinary tale of the children suffering from cancer. They have taken the ailment in their stride, to give the message that cancer can be beaten.
The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at the Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital has given a new hope to hundreds of parents from Madhya Pradhesh, Bihar, eastern UP and Nepal, whose life became shattered after their children were diagnosed with cancer. As many as 1813 female children in one to five years of age group reported at the Regional Cancer Centre in 2005-06. Amongst them, 18 per cent were found suffering from leukemia, 23 per cent from bone cancer, 14 per cent from kidney, five per cent from brain, five per cent eyes, five per cent retroperitoneum, five per cent from ovary and remaining others were suffering from cancer in other regions of the body.
Similarly, 1698 male children in the age group of zero to five years got admitted to the RCC in the year 2005-06. Amongst them, a large 30 per cent children were found suffering from leukemia, 16 per cent from Hodgkin's disease, 12 per cent from bone cancer, eight percent from cancer in the kidney, six per cent from eye cancer, four per cent from brain cancer, four per cent testis and ten per cent in the connecting tissue. About two per cent children were diagnosed with cancer in nasopharynx, stomach and liver.
"Throughout chemotherapy and other treatment, which were at times painful, these children showed extraordinary courage and enthusiasm towards life. They never let their spirit drop and this helped them in speedy recovery," said Dr B Paul Thalliath, additional director (Medical), Regional Cancer Centre.
Dr Paul said the familial and genetic predisposition were the major causes of childhood cancer. But the newer chemotherapy drugs, targeted therapies and multi drug regimen used for acute lymphatic leukemia has increased the survival rate in children up to 80 per cent. "The survival of children suffering from non-hodgkin's disease, which has poor prognosis, has also increased up to 70-90 per cent," he added.
Dr Paul said the parents as far as from Nepal were coming to RCC for their children's treatment. Some parents, like Sampat Kumar Gupta (from Reewa), had lost hope for their three-year-old daughter Komal after visiting over half-a-dozen cancer centres in India.
"Komal was diagnosed a leukemia patient. But, after six-month-long treatment at RCC, she has started improving. The school-going children admitted to the RCC for treatment are encouraged to play on the campus and lead a normal life. You cannot see them lying on the beds," he said.
