September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and is symbolized by a gold ribbon, worn to commemorate the event. This is an annual international awareness month to raise support, funding and awareness of childhood cancers and the impact for sufferers and families of sufferers of childhood cancer.
Childhood cancer is devastating to growth and development in children, and devastating to their families and friends. At a time when young people should be focusing on school, play and socializing, if they have cancer, their focus can be on medication, operations, and what life they have left.
Some forms of cancer are mainly or exclusively only seen in children, and that is something highlighted by the awareness month. Children can be more resilient to cancer and cancer treatments than adults, and there are many cases of triumph and complete recovery, where children make a complete recovery and grow up to normal life. But awareness, education and support are vital, which is why Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is also vital.
80-100 new cases of childhood cancer are registered in Armenia annually. Leukemias are the most common, followed by brain tumors, lymphomas, bone tumors, and neuroblastoma.
According to the World Health Organization, in high-income countries today 80% of children with cancer are cured, that is, 4 out of 5 patients are cured, and in low- and middle-income countries, an average of 20% of children are cured, that is, 1 out of 5 patients. Armenia, being among low- and middle-income countries, is close to developed countries in terms of pediatric oncology data. According to the results of our country, 70-75% of children with cancer in Armenia recover.