Child cancer claims three lives, so far, this year

Three children have lost their lives to cancer this year, says Walk on Walk Strong (WOWS) Kids Fiji. WOWS team leader Mere Williams said this year did not start well for them.

In 2019, Ms Williams said 21 children died of cancer; in 2020, 25 lives were lost, and 13 children died last year. This year, two cases of childhood cancer have, so far, been registered.

The WOWS team are currently on a threeyear campaign, which started last year, advocating on childhood cancer.

“Campaign for International Childhood Cancer is a three-year campaign and the theme this year is better survival is achievable through your hands, so ‘through your hands’ is a tribute to the doctors and nurses in the pediatric oncology unit and how they have impacted the lives of our children,” Ms Williams said.

“WOWS Kids Fiji is currently looking after 74 children living with cancer and these are known numbers, the numbers that have come through the hospital, but we don’t know there could be more out there.”

Planning

This year, WOWS will focus on fundraisers to continue supporting the children.

“We wanted to do so much in 2021, but because of the COVID-restrictions and even now it is still not safe for our children; they are vulnerable because of their condition so we still will not be able to host family events until we get the proper advise and we would love to do that again for our children because it is all part of the therapy that we provide for them,” she said.

“We do a lot of fundraisings. We don’t get grants like most NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) so we rely heavily on our fundraising activities.

“This includes the shave or save campaign, the great WOWS walk and reaching out to business houses that have supported WOWS Kids Fiji for years now.”

Advocating more in rural communities on the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer would also be a priority this year.