Did you know that September is recognized internationally as the Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? During this month, childhood cancer organizations throughout the world try to emphasize the importance of treating and investing in research concerning childhood cancer ailments.
Whether it is adult cancer or childhood cancer, gone are the days when there was no cure for treating any kind of cancer. With the advent of novel technological innovations in this vast field like chemotherapy, today most cancers are curable. Childhood cancer is the number one cause for the death of children by disease and we need to work towards bringing a permanent cure to it. On the upside, the 5-year survival rate of childhood cancer increased from 61% in 1975 to 84% in 2019.
Get your eyes glued to your computer screens to learn some quirky facts about childhood cancer and how we can bring about the awareness of this disease for better serving those who are affected by it.
Quirky Facts About Childhood Cancer:
- The Gold Ribbon symbolizes Childhood Cancer Awareness. In the medical field, ribbons are often used as symbols for awareness of the diseases. For instance, a brown ribbon relates to awareness for anti-tobacco. A gold ribbon symbolizes Childhood Cancer Awareness (CCA); gold is chosen as the official color for the basic reason that children are as precious as gold!
- Childhood cancer is not a single type of cancer. Unlike most other diseases, childhood cancer is not a single type of cancer. It can relate to an array of subtypes of cancers, including blood cancer, brain tumor, and many more. You will find at least a dozen of them.
- Unlike adult cancer, the main cause of childhood cancer is not bad lifestyle habits like smoking, unhealthy diet, and obesity. Most young children are afflicted by this disease due to genetic disorders and DNA mutations during their formative ages.
- Every day about 700 young children are diagnosed with childhood cancer globally. This figure, 700, is close to the average strength of an elementary school. Can you believe that! In the United States alone, about 44 children below the age of 15 are diagnosed with childhood cancer and of which 5 of them die every day. About 250 young children around the world die every day due to childhood cancer.
Challenges facing Childhood Cancer
The approach to deal with childhood cancer is slightly different from the approach to dealing with adult cancer for doctors and medical practitioners. As pointed above, childhood cancer is rampant among young children and adolescents due to genetic and DNA mutations and hence we can only think of treating the disease, unlike adult cancer where we can also use preventive measures by adopting healthy living habits. Some of the challenges facing pediatric cancer are inadequate funding for research and medical advancements; most governments worldwide are reluctant to invest their money in these areas. Demographics suggest that only 4% of the overall funding for cancer worldwide is utilized by child cancer.
Things to do For Child Cancer Awareness Month-Sep 2020
As September 2020 is dedicated to cancer awareness of children, this is the perfect month to reach out to people for educating them about this deadly disease. There’s no better way to reaching out to people than sharing relevant facts, inspirational stories, and the latest news about Childhood Cancer via Social Media Platforms. You can also reach out to people physically.
- Use Social Media Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The advantage here is you can reach your targeted customers easily without the limitations of geographic boundaries.
- Get yourself a few gold ribbons from any of the child cancer organizations in your area for decorating your house, bike, and shoes so that the message of awareness reaches to people who get to see them.
- This is also the time when most childhood awareness organizations reach out to people for collecting donations for furthering research and medical facilities for the treatment of childhood cancer. The most common fundraising methods undertaken by organizations are Social Media fundraising campaigns and the sale of online merchandise related to childhood cancer.
To conclude, the cancer infliction rate is increasing by the day and as responsible people of the society, regardless of the country where we live, there’s every reason for each of us to indulge in childhood cancer awareness activities and help childhood cancer organizations in carrying out their research to better serve those affected by the disease. Let’s us make Childhood Cancer Awareness Month September 2020 a reality by spreading this message to the relevant people of our society.
