Islamabad, February 23 – Even though experts estimate that childhood cancer survival rates in wealthy nations are over 80 percent, they drop to below 30 percent in low and middle-income countries like Pakistan, primarily due to delayed recognition of symptoms, lack of quality supportive care and trained specialists, limited access to specialized treatment, and treatment abandonment, a report details.
Approximately 10,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in Pakistan each year, according to an editorial in Pakistan's leading daily, The Express Tribune. Each year, Pakistan is losing children who could have been saved if they had been born in countries with better resources and resource management.
"The dismal survival rate in Pakistan is largely due to delayed recognition of symptoms, lack of quality supportive care, lack of trained specialists, limited access to specialized treatment centers, and even high rates of treatment abandonment," the editorial stated.
Diagnosis of childhood cancer is delayed due to negligence at almost every level of care. A lack of awareness of symptoms causes a primary delay in consulting a doctor. Subsequently, there is a delay in referring the child to an oncology center, which is further followed by a delay in the final diagnosis due to limited diagnostic facilities and overburdened hospitals, The Express Tribune opined.
During the treatment process, families have to deal with inexperienced medical professionals and face difficulties in accessing medical facilities. Families who reside in remote areas face increased disadvantages, as specialized care is absent in such regions, it mentioned further.
Even if children are able to access medical facilities, the cost of advanced treatments, life-saving drugs, and basic primary care provisions makes it impossible for the majority of families to utilize all available resources.
