Screen children for cancer: Minister
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi has called on parents to have their children checked for cancer at the earliest possible stage to ensure better chances of survival.
Official statistics show that up to 4,000, or 2 percent, of the 200,000 new cases of cancer in Indonesia affect children.
Sujudi said in a media statement on Thursday that childhood cancer was curable so long as it is detected at the earliest point possible and properly treated.
"Often, the treatment will require removal of the cancerous organ to save the patient's life. This is important to know for the doctor, parents and everybody concerned," he said.
The survival rate for children with cancer is about 70 percent, provided the disease is detected at an early stage and is properly treated.
The minister made the statement in conjunction with International Childhood Cancer Day, which falls on Jan. 15.
Quoting World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, Sujudi said that, around the world, 250,000 children live with cancer. They account for four percent of the total number of people with the disease.
According to the WHO, only 20 percent of the world's children cancer patients receive access to proper care and, as a result, 80 percent remain untreated.
The International Confederation of Childhood Cancer Parent Organizations (ICCCPO) has reported that the lack of proper treatment and diagnosis has led to the deaths of 100,000 cancer- stricken children around the world annually.
The WHO predicts that cases of cancer have grown by over six million worldwide per year, and that an estimated nine million will die from the disease over the course of next decade.
Sujudi said that, generally, cancer in children is harder to detect than that in adults -- such as cancer of the ovary, skin and breasts.
To address the situation, the Ministry of Health will join non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved with health- related issues on a campaign to improve public awareness about the need for an early diagnosis of the childhood cancer.
Cancer is a disease characterized by the uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal cells in the body. In many cases, this proliferation of cells occurs in a vital organ or tissue, and inhibits its normal functions -- with possible fatal results.
According to Djajadiman Gatot, a noted oncologist, the survival rate for children with cancer is higher than the adult rate, provided that the disease is detected and treated at the earliest possible phase.
Gatot said in a media conference that the most common childhood cancer in Indonesia is leukemia, a chronic disease of unknown cause characterized by blood abnormalities.
In fact, some 40 percent of all children reported to have cancer here suffer from leukemia, he added.
Experts say that there is no clear correlation between economic status and cancer.
Most common types of childhood cancer
Leukemia, an abnormal increase in the number of leukocytes in the tissues of the body -- with or without a corresponding increase of those in the circulating blood.
Brain Tumor, an abnormal mass of tissue that serves no useful purpose for the brain.
Retinoblastoma, a hereditary malignant tumor of the retina derived from retinal germ cells.
Osteosarcoma, a sarcoma derived from bone or containing bone tissue.
Lymphoma, a harmful tumor of lymphoid tissue.
Neuroblastoma, a malignant tumor formed of embryonic ganglions cells.
Rabdomiosarcoma, abnormal growth of muscle tissues.
Wilms' Tumor, a rapidly developing cancer of the kidney that affects children and made up of embryonic elements.