EARLY DETECTION IS VITAL

THE MOST prevalent cancer in children is leukaemia and because of late detection, the cure rate is only 55% in South Africa.

February 15 is International Childhood Cancer Day. According to the Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC), about twothirds of children who have cancer never get to a treatment centre and if they do, it is only during the late stages of the disease.

The most common cancers in children are leukaemia lymphoma, brain tumours, Wilms tumours and soft tissue sarcomas.

However, for a four-year-old girl from Mossel Bay, doctors detected the tumour early on. They diagnosed her with Wilms tumours, also known as cancer of the kidneys.

Danelle’s mother, Johanna Manho, took her to the hospital last year in August after she was constantly constipated.

“Last year it got so bad that her stomach was swollen and hard. The doctors immediately did a scan of her stomach and found the tumour in her kidney. Because the tumour was so huge, the doctors could not operate immediately and my four-year-old child had to undergo chemotherapy for the tumour to get smaller. It was not nice to see her when she underwent chemotherapy, but she was very brave.

“She only has one kidney now because they removed the other one. After the operation, she was a normal, lively and active child again. I am happy to see her walk and play like any other normal child. The only thing is that she is not eating so well.

“What saved her life was the fact that doctors detected the tumour early,” Manho said.

CHOC regional manager Lynette Muthuray said early detection of childhood cancer afforded early diagnosis, enabling a better chance of being cured and an increased survival rate. | Rusana Philander