Childhood Cancer : Raising Awareness, Deconstructing Cultural Prejudices

According to World Child Cancer, which has been supporting cancer work in the country through the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board, 1,000 children are expected to develop cancer each year in Cameroon. The charity says its efforts “have in more than 10 years achieved success in raising survival rates for Burkitt lymphoma from zero to 60 per cent,” its website writes.

Cancer Also Affects Children
Because of the gravity of the public health situation, the Non-governmental Organisation, Mori’s Child, organised an awareness walk in downtown Yaounde on Saturday, September 10, 2022. According to Ruth-Grace Ngo Nyobe, President and Founder of Mori’s Child, the objective was to remind parents cancer also affects children and can be treated in Cameroon.
“Children affected by cancer have a right to life and to take part in normal activities with their peers. The walk was aimed at putting smiles on the faces of such children through physical exercise. We chose this month, dubbed “Golden September,” to draw public attention to childhood cancer,” Ngo Nyobe explained. Throughout the month, a number of events will be organised, concluding with blood donation.

Early Diagnosis As Key
“Cancer affects children and is treatable when diagnosed on time. Childhood cancer does not have particular symptoms. It can stem from allergies or prolonged fever. Parents are encouraged to promptly take such cases to hospital for specialist examination,” Ruth-Grace Ngo Nyobe encouraged.  

Medication, Equipment, Technical Expertise
“Cameroon, like many other low- and middle-income countries, experiences a high rate of childhood cancer. Although 80 percent of children with cancer in high-income countries survive, only about 10 to 20 per cent of children survive up to five years after diagnosis in Cameroon, largely due to limited access to timely care. Even when patients seek care, the medications, equipment, and technical expertise to treat their cancers are often lacking,” says an article published on the website of Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI on February 14, 2022. It is entitled, “Improving access to quality childhood cancer care for improved survival rates in Cameroon.”

Common Treatment Protocols
Before CHAI started its work in Cameroon, protocols for treating common pediatric cancers varied from one centre to another, says the article. As a result, the course of treatment for the same cancer varied significantly. To solve this problem, the National Cancer Programme, in collaboration with CHAI, assembled doctors specializing in childhood cancer treatment to develop common protocols for treating paediatric cancers, built on evidence-based guidelines, the article notes.

Community Must Be Involved
Léopold Molel Belika, a medical anthropologist, cautions that the fight against cancer in children should not be limited to health professionals alone. “The community must be involved because cancer care involves spiritual, social and cultural considerations. Each culture has its science and traditional medicine. Cancers are not strange to our cultures as they are well classified. The problem arises when patients are taken to hospital where biomedical concepts are introduced, which are quite different from the traditional classification of the health situation,” Belika explains.

Prejudices To Deconstruct
“To deconstruct this prejudice, there ought to be an effective therapeutic partnership right from the beginning, fostered by efficient communication between the family of the patient and health staff. Health staff must recognise that the family of the patient has a clear understanding of the sickness of their child. This helps to enhance treatment,” he counsels.  

Witchdoctors, Herbalists, Prayers
Because of misunderstanding over the treatment of cancer, as soon as familie...