Islamabad, Feb 23 (IANS) Even though experts reckon that childhood cancer survival rates in wealthy nations is over 80 per cent, it drops to below 30 per cent in low and middle-income nations like Pakistan largely due to delay in recognising symptoms, lack of quality supportive care and trained specialists, limited access to specialised treatment and treatment abandonment, a report has detailed.

Around 10,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in Pakistan each year, an editorial in Pakistan's leading daily The Express Tribune stated. Every year, Pakistan is losing children that could have been saved if they were born in nations which have better resources and resource management.

"The dismal survival rate in Pakistan is largely due to a delayed recognition of symptoms, lack of quality supportive care, lack of trained specialists, limited access to specialised treatment centres and even high rates of treatment abandonment," the editorial mentioned.

Diagnosis of childhood cancer is delayed due to negligence on almost all levels of care. A lack of awareness of symptoms causes a primary delay in consulting a doctor. Then, there is a delay in referring the child to an oncological centre, which is further followed by a delay in the final diagnosis due to limited diagnostic facilities and overburdened hospitals, The Express Tribune opined.

During the treatment process, families have to deal with inexperienced medical professionals and face difficulties in accessing medical facilities. Families who reside in remote areas faced increased disadvantages as specialised care is absent in such regions, it mentioned further.

Even if children are able to access medical facilities, the price of advanced treatments, lifesaving drugs and basic primary care provisions make it impossible for majority of families to use every possible resource.

--IANS

akl/as