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Tawam Hospital raises awareness on cancer amongst children

Tawam Hospital, in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine and part of the SEHA healthcare system, is observing the International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) in its efforts to raise awareness about pediatric cancer. The medical facility is calling on health care specialists, caretakers and parents to be more aware of cancer signs that could already be affecting kids or adolescents.

ICCD is renowned every year to celebrate the strength, nerve and resiliency of kids with cancer and their families. During this day, the world's leading stakeholders for childhood cancers consisting of International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) and Childhood Cancer International (CCI; officially ICCCPO) launch global cancer awareness activities to highlight the requirement for equal and better access to youth cancer look after kids all over. ICCD also promotes enhanced appreciation and deeper understanding of problems and difficulties faced by children or teenagers with cancer, the survivors, their families and society.

With the theme, "Yes, we can! Childhood cancer can be beaten" Tawam Hospital intends to inform health care specialists relating to early indication of childhood cancer, develop public awareness about possible curability of youth cancers and inform the caregivers of childhood cancer patients about the troubles during cancer treatment.

Childhood cancers typically differ from adult cancers concerning their potential for curability. According to the most recent world-wide price quotes, more than 250,000 children are detected yearly with cancer and about 90,000 of those die from their condition. This number is staggering specifically because 70 % of all childhood cancers are curable. In advanced and industrialized countries, some childhood cancer even accomplish approximately 95 % of cure rate with the accessibility of modern diagnostic and therapeutic facilities.

Regrettably to most, the outcome for cancer becomes bleak if there are delays in presentation or referral and turns a large number of possibly treatable cancers into incurable illness.

The significant obstacles in cancer treatment worldwide consists of lack of public awareness about cancer, low index of suspicion for cancer by dealing with physicians, availability of medications, high cost of treatment, absence of skilled professionals, few devoted cancer centres and unacceptable supportive care facilities.

"Children or teenagers who are identified and referred to us with early stages of cancer are extremely much curable with an outstanding long term survival. We still encounter a lot of challenges in treating youth cancers since of late medical diagnosis.

Through magnified public awareness campaigns on childhood cancer, a number of lives can be saved. Tawam's project consists of distribution of materials on youth cancer warning signs adjusted from SIOP, CCI and UICC through electronic and print media.

These warning signs include: pallor, bruising or bleeding, general bone pain; lump or swelling: especially if painless and without fever or other signs of infection; unexplained weight loss or fever, persistent cough or shortness of breath and/or sweating at night; eye changes: white pupil, new onset squint, loss of vision, bruising or swelling around the eye(s); abdominal swelling; headache: especially if unusually persistent or severe, vomiting (especially early morning or worsening over days); and, limb or bone pain, swelling without prior injury or signs of infection.

"Any child who manifests the warning symptoms have to be referred for additional assessment. It is also extremely essential to for healthcare service providers to be much better informed about early signs and indications of childhood cancers. They need to recognize with technique to detect cancers with the appropriate lab tests and immediate care to support the patient before referral to the cancer centre," said Muhammad Saghir Specialist Physician, Hematology/Oncology atTawam Hospital one of SEHA health care system entities. "On this ICCD, lets us promise making efforts for elimination of elements responsible for the hold-up in identifying childhood cancers and show that we can beat cancer," Muhammad Saghir, included.

Tawam Hospital supplies extensive medical services and is dedicated to advancing medical care throughout all areas treatment. Our oncologists are some of the very best in the area and are updated in the most recent and evidence-based treatment and practices in handling cancer cases," stated Abdullah Qasem Charge Nurse, PEDS Oncology Unit at Tawam Hospital one of SEHA healthcare system entities.

Tawam Hospital belongs to the SEHA Health System owned and run by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) which is accountable for the curative activities of all the public medical facilities and centers of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

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