How do we get the world to better fund and better recognize the various forms of childhood cancer?

Question

My son, now 4, was 3 1/2 when diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer called a Wilms Tumor (kidney tumor). While there is money being put toward it's research more needs to be added. Stages 4 and 5 of this type of cancer can be very hard to fight. New drugs need to be developed for these more aggressive cases. Also, the survival rate, if you relapse, is not what it should be. Longterm survival rates, with no relapse, can be very good. I believe that more attention needs to be given to all forms of childhood cancer, not just leukemia.

For the record, my son is nearly 6 months off treatment and so far is doing just fine! His next check up is at the end of July.

Answer 1

Since Wilms, as you say, is a rare form of childhood cancer, the money--and overall, childhood cancer research is well funded--is honestly better spent on cancers that affect more children. While I do understand your desire to see more attention paid to your son's illness, the research must first be done on more common cancers.

Lest you think I am unsympathetic, I lost my own youngest 2 years ago to complications from very aggressive chemo when he was 5, 10 years prior to his death. (Don't let that scare you, though, treatment has come a long way in 12 years!) He was fortunate to have the ten years, though, as his cancer, like your son's, was rare and not well understood, hence the very aggressive treatment.

Nonetheless, I still understand the need to work on the more common cancers first. It is not only leukemias that are now being turned into treatable illnesses, though, more and more solid tumors of many types have become survivable each year.

Give that boy a big hug for me, and you two look forward to your next 60 or 70 years together, if *you* last that long.

Answer 2

Congratulations to your son for being off of treatment. I hope he is doing well along with you and your family.

I couldn't agree more with your suggestion. As a survivor of a rare childhood cancer I also wonder the same thing. It seems that the only certain cancers get attention while others are ignored. My suggestion would be to go out and make your voice heard. You know that this form of cancer exists but many others do not. Help spread the word about what it is. Good Luck to both you and your son.

Answer 3

Make people aware of humaine treatments such as radiowave therapy...The children especially should not be victoms of our medical systems experiments....

Seek for the right treatments..Dr Holts institute in Adelaide...

www.the-institute.com.au

Answer 4

just keep talking and asking. I am very sorry that you have to face this my heart goes out to you