- Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues including the bone marrow, hindering the body's ability to fight infection.
- Overall, 25 per cent of all cancers were diagnosed between the age of zero to 29 years.
Leukaemia account for the highest childhood cancer burden in the country, the latest report by the National Cancer Institute shows.
Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues including the bone marrow, hindering the body's ability to fight infection.
Many types of leukemia exist but some forms of leukemia are more common in children.
Leukemia is followed by brain tumors at 11 per cent, lymphomas at 10 per cent while other cancers account for 47 per cent.
“The proportion of childhood cancers (0-18 years) relative to cancers in all age groups was found to account for 2 per cent of the total cancer cases,” the report shows.
“There were slightly more childhood cancers reported among females (53 per cent) than males (47 per cent)."
Catherine Muendo, a pediatric oncologist at KNH says despite diagnosis in some children happening early enough, some parents opt to seek alternative medical options such as herbalists as opposed to conventional treatment.
This, she says is due to the deep-rooted beliefs, myths and misconceptions about cancer in communities.
As a result, such children are brought to the hospital late leading to poor treatment and survival outcomes.
“There are cultures that don’t believe in seeking healthcare. They believe in doing traditional medicinal rituals and that affects the impact of care for cancer children,” she says.
She however says that exposure to some chemicals, pesticides or air pollution has been associated with childhood cancer.
Overall, 25 per cent of all cancers were diagnosed between the age of zero to 29 years, while 75 per cent of cases were diagnosed between ages 30 and 84 years.
The report shows that according to the age group, the highest number of new cases of reported cancers is between the age of 45 to 49 in women and 65 to 69 years in men.
“When examining by educational attainment, the majority of cancer patients reported through the National Cancer Registry system had either no formal education or had attained primary level of education,” the report states.