International Childhood Cancer Day, or International Children's Cancer Day, is celebrated annually on February 15 by many countries around the world. This date first appeared on the calendar in 2001 at the initiative of Childhood Cancer International (CCI) — of a global network of currently 176 parent organizations, associations of children in remission with cancer, or mutual aid groups in 93 countries on five continents.
The first International Day was held on January 15, 2002 in Luxembourg, but then it was decided to postpone the date a month later.
Today, Children with Cancer Day is held in more than 90 countries under the patronage of the International Society of Children's Oncologists. It is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about pediatric oncology and support sick children and their families.
The relevance of the problem to which the Day is dedicated, unfortunately, is increasing. According to WHO, more than 400 thousand children and adolescents under 20 years of age are diagnosed with cancer worldwide every year. Moreover, every year about 100 thousand children die from cancer.
Timely diagnosis is considered the key to successful treatment of cancer. If the disease is detected in the first or second stages, treatment often leads to a favorable outcome. However, a tenth of cancer cases are detected only at the third stage, and eight percent of children are diagnosed only at the fourth stage.
The difficulty also lies in the fact that there are a lot of forms of oncology — about 200, and the disease can begin in almost any organ. Children are most often affected by leukemia, or blood cancer.
In developed countries, where doctors have the necessary diagnostic equipment, three out of four children with cancer are currently recovering. In developing countries the situation is the opposite. It is in such countries that 80 percent of children with cancer live.
In Russia, child mortality from cancer is second only to mortality from injuries. About four thousand children a year get cancer every year. Modern treatment methods can save about 70 percent of sick children. Many of those who do die could also survive. They cannot be saved due to lack of money, donor blood and qualified medical care.
Taking these factors into account, activists of the International Day of Children with Cancer today call on all concerned people to provide all possible assistance: donate blood, make a charitable contribution to the relevant funds, and conduct educational work.
In many Russian cities, on this day, various events and activities are held for these children by charitable foundations and volunteers. Their goal — is not only to attract public attention to this problem, but also to remind that today’s date — is not a day of despair, but a celebration of the victory of children and adults, doctors, relatives of the sick and everyone who is not indifferent to other people’s grief, over the terrible disease — cancer.
The symbol of the fight against pediatric oncology is the gold ribbon. It symbolizes how precious a treasure their children are to their parents.
Let us remind you that February 4 marks another date associated with the terrible disease, — World Cancer Day.