KidzCan, Manicaland schools collaborate in childhood cancer fight

CHILDREN’S cancer relief organisation, KidzCan Zimbabwe, is in the process of establishing links with Manicaland schools to spread awareness on childhood cancer.

This was revealed by the organisation’s Executive Director, Mr Daniel McKenzie, during an Editors’ Workshop organised by the National Aids Council in Darwendale last week.

The latest plans come after KidzCan Zimbabwe, in a partnership with Delta Corporation, handed over five-litre water tanks to St Joseph’s and Sakubva primary schools in Rusape and Mutare recently.

The programme started off during Covid19 as a way of encouraging school children to wash their hands to avoid spreading the virus.

“There are some schools with no access to water and school children do not wash their hands after using the toilet. As an organisation that looks out for children’s health, we had to step in. At every school that receives our tank donation, we install three taps. Due to the rampant supply of water in some areas, the tanks are being used for water storage,” said Mr Mckenzie.

KidzCan seeks to serve children and families affected by cancer throughout Zimbabwe.

Around 350 cases of children’s cancer are supported through the organisation every year.

The organisation provides services that include clinical care, advocacy, and case management. They also provide chemotherapy drugs, as well as blood and blood products to young cancer patients.

Said Mr Mckenize: “We need to change the narrative because most people do not know that children can also get cancer, hence the high fatality rate among young cancer patients.”

He went on to call for Government to consider including children’s cancer screening on children’s health cards.

“The good thing is that most parents religiously take their children for immunisation. As a country we could use those routine visits to check for cancer symptoms. That way, we could detect cases of cancer among children early and get them on treatment early, thereby increasing their chances of survival,” he said.

Most cancers in children, like those in adults, are thought to develop as a result of mutations in genes that lead to uncontrolled cell growth and eventually cancer.

The types of cancers that occur most often

in children are different from those seen in adults. The most common cancers among children are leukaemia, brain and spinal cord tumours, cancer of the kidney, bones and eyes.

Other types of cancers are rare in children, but they do happen sometimes.