Every year, approximately 500 children are diagnosed with various forms of cancer in our country, says Cezar Irimia, president of the Federation of Associations of Cancer Patients.
500 children are diagnosed with cancer annually in Romania – Photo Shuterstock
The cure rate is very high, especially for hematological cancers, says Cezar Irimia.
“Romania, unfortunately, has over 5,000 cancer patients (no – annually) and every year about 500 children are diagnosed with cancer. (…) In children, the cure rate is very high, especially in hematological cancers“, said Irimia, according to Agerpres.
In addition to fighting the relentless disease, parents also struggle to solve problems related to investigations and treatment.
“I am called by parents who cry because they do not have money for the investigations of these children, even if the investigations are free, they want to start the treatments as soon as possible, but no doctor can treat them because they do not have those investigations and because there is no money they are postponed until the Greek calendars and we are somehow trying to cover the costs of these investigations, but we don't have too many financial possibilities either. And in children there is a whole tragedy regarding treatment and investigations. Many of the children go outside, unfortunately. Parents who have money take their children abroad to Europe, and parents who do not have money have only to wait for the budget to be supplemented and to be able to see their child entered for treatment. And here there are dedicated treatments and they encounter difficulties. (…) We have specialists, we have and don't have state-of-the-art treatments, but many are discontinued. I'll give you just one example – the Vesanoid – which has been brought up with great fanfare for months. If the patient does not take this medicine, his life is in danger“, also said the president of the Federation of Associations of Cancer Patients.
On February 15, the International Day of Children with Cancer is marked annually.
For his part, MEP Tudor Ciuhodaru announced today that a new amendment was adopted that will help save more children with cancer.
“Adopted. I succeeded. Low-income parents accompanying children with oncological pathology for treatment abroad will benefit from special financial support. The amendment that I supported in the Plenary of the European Parliament was adopted with 368 votes for, 285 against and 39 abstentions. Patients in Romania continue to face a harsh reality. I am talking about major difficulties in accessing medical services in other member states. Although the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive and the Social Security Regulation ensure this, few know or are able to access these services when they have an oncology problem“, the MEP sent on Facebook.
There are 12 pediatric oncology centers in our country, and the number of doctors with this specialization is small. There are only 38 pediatric oncologists in the whole country, according to Panorama.
The most common types of cancer found among Romanian children are leukemias (31%), lymphomas – blood cancer (16%); tumors of the central nervous system (14%); and bone and soft tissue tumors (7%), according to a ranking drawn up by the Romanian Society of Pediatric Onco-Hematology.
