Families celebrate Int’l Childhood Cancer Day
KUCHING: Over 20 families participated in a physical arts and crafts activity carried out by Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS) yesterday in conjunction with International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD), which is observed annually on Feb 15.
The participating families created colourful handprint drawings, which they then hung on a tree as a symbol of support, hope and appreciation.
The activity was held at Sarawak General Hospital’s Paediatric Specialist Clinic and Paediatric Ward in recognition of the love and sacrifices of families and caregivers towards the patients.
“In addition to raising awareness of the many significant challenges that children, adolescents and their families face as a result of childhood cancer, ICCD is a great opportunity to advocate for change, promoting solutions and generating new initiatives towards real improvements with tangible impact,” said SCCS president Rodney Wong in a press release.
It also announced that, in conjunction with 2024’s theme of ‘Unveiling Challenges’, SCCS launched a week-long digital campaign that aims to explore the challenges that patients and their families face in order to access treatment throughout Sarawak.
Throughout the week-long digital campaign, SCCS detailed logistical challenges from several patients and their caregivers hailing from other parts of Sarawak outside of Kuching, documenting their journey of leaving home for prolonged periods to access life-saving cancer treatments at Sarawak General Hospital.
According to SCCS, some of these families have been separated for over six months.
It explained that 2024 marks the start of a three-year global campaign that centres around understanding and addressing the challenges faced by childhood cancer patients, caregivers, survivors, healthcare professionals and researchers worldwide.
The campaign by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) and Childhood Cancer International (CCI) for International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is designed to progress in distinct phases, – starting with Unveiling Challenges (2024), Inspiring Action (2025) and Demonstrating Impact (2026) – each of which contributes to a comprehensive narrative that evolves over time.