NEWS COPY.
Almost one in five Brits has known a child who has suffered with cancer.
A study of 2,000 UK adults has revealed the extent to which childhood cancer has affected the population with almost 18 per cent knowing a youngster who has suffered from the disease.
And more than one in 10 have known someone to suffer with leukaemia - the most common form of childhood cancer.
But despite cancer being the most common cause of death among children in the UK, more than 90 per cent of respondents were unaware that approximately 250 little ones lose their lives to cancer each year.
Mark Brider, acting CEO of national charity Children with Cancer UK, which commissioned the research to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month said: “Each year in the UK, about 4,500 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer, with approximately 250 sadly losing their lives to the disease.
“Each September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month helps to highlight the impact of cancer on young people and their families.
“This, in turn, helps us to support more children, improve the lives of young cancer patients and their families and continue to fund lifesaving childhood cancer research in the hope that one day no child will die from the disease.”
The study also found three in 10 adults are unaware of the long-term side effects of childhood cancer.
Fifty-six per cent did not know suffering from childhood cancer could lead to secondary cancer later in life while 54 per cent were unaware it could cause infertility later in life.
More than six in 10 (62 per cent) didn't realise growth impairment can be a result of suffering from cancer at a young age.
And 70 per cent didn't know that cancer treatment could cause behavioural issues.
Fifty-three per cent were also unaware of the potential impact of childhood cancer treatment on the mental health and wellbeing of children.
Almost 30 per cent of people surveyed in the research, conducted by OnePoll, also said they thought more than 10 per cent of cancer research funding would be allocated to childhood cancer research.
In reality, only three per cent goes towards researching paediatric cancers.
Mark Brider added: “Childhood cancers are very different to those found in adults, but all too often doctors have to rely upon treatments designed for adults, not children.
“This can leave children facing lifelong health problems as their small bodies struggle to cope with toxic medicines.
“This makes childhood cancer research vital to improving survival rates as well as quality of survival.
“With the help of our supporters, Children with Cancer UK currently fund more than 60 research projects across the UK, however, more funding is needed to drive breakthroughs and provide ongoing support to children and families facing cancer diagnosis and treatment.”
For more information about childhood cancer and Children with Cancer UK, please visit www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk
CASE STUDY
Blue Tobin, was just two years old when he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a rare and aggressive blood cancer with a one in four survival rate.
As a result of his AML, Blue missed a lot of schooling, and his family didn’t think he’d make it.
He was deemed a “failure to thrive”, meaning he wouldn’t eat, failed to gain weight and was treated in isolation.
In our video of Blue’s story, his mum, Francesca, reflects on five years of “absolute hell”.
However, thanks to the love and support of Blue’s family, friends, doctors, nurses, consultants and researchers, he slowly started to regain his strength.
Blue, now 10-years-old, said: “It was painful and just destroys your body.
“It was scary, but at the same time I felt like I had people beside me helping me fight off the cancer, and those people were my doctors, my nurses, my mum, my nan, my grandad and the rest of my family.”
Blue was declared cancer free at the age of seven on 10th May 2017, which his mum, Francesca, describes as a miracle.
She remembers vividly standing with her family in the Royal Marsden Hospital, witnessing the moment where Blue finally got to ring the End of Treatment Bell to commemorate being declared cancer-free.
Blue’s consultant, Dr. Michael Potter, was also there to join in this momentous and joyous occasion.
Francesca said: “I am very, very proud of Blue today, but I am also very thankful to everyone who was involved in our journey.
"It was a very, very long, horrendous journey.”
Blue offers wise words for other children diagnosed with cancer. He said: “Make sure cancer doesn’t bring you down, and that you always have a smile, and you always have a laugh.”
