CHILD CANCER: KIDZCAN LAUNCH ORANGE MONTH
KIDZCAN Zimbabwe has launched the Orange Month campaign, which promotes raising awareness of child cancer.
The awareness campaign comes as part of the International Childhood Cancer Day, with Zimbabwe joining the rest of the world by wearing orange clothes.
The organisation is encouraging primary schools, nursery schools, gyms and companies to wear something orange, donate to the cancer cause and attend school clad in orange and bring a US$1 donation.
KidzCan Zimbabwe executive director, Daniel McKenzie, said treatment of paediatric cancer sufferers and their families is frequently tackled alone due to stigma, which is caused by ignorance.
“The funds donated will go towards the treatment of the sufferers and their families.
“Primary school pupils will learn about different cancers
and the importance of early detection and treatment.
“Orange is our colour of choice because it is a happy colour. For us, it is a colour of hope, and it means ‘I care’.
“When kids are asked to choose a colour, they pick orange; it is the new colour of love,” said McKenzie.
He said it was also important to educate teachers about cancer so that they can identify any
warning signs in their students and refer them for medical attention.
“The major challenge is that many of our people do not know that children get cancer, and this means that when they turn up for treatment, it’s already late.
“This is further compounded by poverty and the religious and cultural orientation that often result in treatment abandonment, spiking the mortality rate.
“Our patients lack good nutrition in some cases because good nutrition is central to the treatment of cancer as it allows the body to recover in time for treatment.”
He said the top three cancers which affect children are eye cancer (retinoblastoma), kidney cancer (Wilm’s Tumour) and blood cancer (leukaemia).
John Tsimba, whose son is a blood cancer patient under the care of KidzCan, explains the crucial role KidzCan has played in the treatment journey.
“When child cancer strikes, every member of the family feels the agony. When my son fell ill, I was ill-prepared having not saved any money aside.
“Not having any knowledge of child cancer, and no history of it in my family, it was quite harrowing to experience it when it came.
“It was, therefore, a huge relief when KidzCan stepped in with free treatment, support for drugs, scans, accommodation and bus fares,” said Tsimba.