With about 1 000 children diagnosed with cancer in South Africa every year, there is a critical need to focus on early diagnosis.
According to the paediatric oncology unit at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under 14 and remains a health issue around the world.
In South Africa, although between 800 and 1 000 children are newly diagnosed with cancer every year, some are never diagnosed, or diagnosed too late, reports News24.
Chairperson of the SA Association of Paediatric Haematology Oncology Professor Gita Naidu highlighted several priorities in cases of paediatric cancer: “Referral to specialised treatment centres, ensure access to diagnostics and therapeutics, and emphasise quality of life,” she said.
Razia Wilson (14) from Cape Town was 10 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma at Tygerberg Hospital.
Five years later, she is excelling at school.
Neuroblastoma is an aggressive childhood cancer that is most often diagnosed in children under three. The hospital said it spreads early and widely to other areas of the body.
Most children already have metastatic or widespread disease when diagnosed with this cancer.
It commonly develops in the adrenal gland on top of the kidney or along the spine, where a chain of nerve tissue is located. It can spread to the bone marrow, brain, liver, and bone.
Razia’s mother, Lameez, said her daughter was two-years-old when she took her to the local clinic because she had a high fever, weight loss and no appetite.
“Her fever persisted for several weeks. I took her to a private doctor who referred us to Bishop Lavis Day Hospital, but she was immediately taken to Tygerberg Hospital. By then, she had a swollen stomach.”
After several tests, Razia was diagnosed with cancer.
Dr Anel van Zyl, a paediatric oncologist at Tygerberg Hospital, said stage 4 neuroblastoma was challenging to treat and cure, even in the most developed countries.
“Razia received intensive chemotherapy, after which a surgical resection was done, followed by more chemotherapy.
“She is in complete remission and is doing well. She attends the paediatric oncology survivor clinic at the hospital annually to monitor her health.”
When Johannesburg’s Molemo Modibogo was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2021 at just three-years-old, her mother, Kele Modibogo thought her child was going to die.
She said she had first noticed something was wrong with her daughter when she started coughing a lot and spent most of her time sleeping.
"She was always tired – I took her to clinic, and we were only given cough mixture. A week later, she was still coughing. I returned to the clinic, and the nurses suspected pneumonia.”
Modibogo decided to visit another clinic, where doctors said Molemo had water on her lungs.
“She was transferred to Bara Hospital, and diagnosed with leukaemia.”
Her child started with chemotherapy at the hospital’s Zakithi Nkosi Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Clinic, and had her final treatment on 20 September.
Tygerberg’s Van Zyl said it was important to teach the early warning signs of childhood cancer to communities and all healthcare workers.
“The earlier children are diagnosed, the better the prognosis usually. Childhood cancer is very different from adult-type cancers and responds better to chemotherapy, leading to better outcomes,” she added.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Safer treatments urgently needed for child cancer patients
SA’s child cancer sufferers falling through the cracks
SA med students failing to recognise childhood cancer's early warning signs