| "I have held little children in my arms today, and wiped away their tears. These children who will die from a disease I survived as a child, nearly thirty years ago. Children whose diagnosis was delayed by a lack of awareness among their own doctors. Children whose chance of life balances on the availability of a few shillings for transport. Children who languish in tiny rooms devoid of colour and entertainment. Children who smile broadly and giggle merrily when I show them their pictures on my camera. Children who are so deserving of compassion and needing love. The world must know about these children, know that they exist, that they need help, that they are worth fighting for." - Abby White - 2005. |
| Precious Lives: caring for children with Retinoblastoma in Africa. |
| ORPHANS OF THE CANCER STORM |
| "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path - and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ |
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| Medical and supportive care for children with retinoblastoma (and childhood cancer in general) is virtually non-existant in many African countries. Many children never reach a hospital or see a doctor until the cancer is too advanced to treat. However, Rb among children in Africa can be cured. Read an essay from April 2005, which examines the state of retinoblastoma care south of the Sahara. |
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| "Africa". The word conjures up all sorts of images doesn't it? Of safaris on endless savanna; tropical beaches; bustling, colourful markets. Or maybe you think of war and famine, AIDS, and unimaginable poverty. |
| BUT, would you think of thousands of children dying from eye cancer? Meet 2yr old Mitchel. Yes, his photo is shocking, but this is what retinoblastoma does to many children, before they die from a cancer that is TOTALLY curable when caught and treated early and correctly. Mitchel's teenaged mother had no idea what was wrong with her son, and no money to take him to a hospital, until his cancer was so advanced that no one could help him. By that time, her entire family had abandoned mother and child, and she was faced with the harsh reality of no support in the weeks before her son died. |
| In this section, you can find out about the state of care for children with Rb in Africa, the life of one little girl who has inspired a movement for change, and the organisation that has been established to help change lives across the continent and around the world. |
| In 2005, I visited a typical referral hospital in Western Kenya, where Retinoblastoma is the second most common cancer diagnosed in children. With just one nurse, two IV stands and twenty-six beds for paediatric ongology admissions, the hospital may have forty or more children admitted at any one time for treatment. Read the report of my hugely impacting visit to "Russia" as it is known by the locals, and experience something of the trauma families face in Africa, following a diagnosis - these are the lucky ones...they have reached medical care at least. |
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| When I visited NPRH in July 2005, just four of the 26 paediatric oncology beds had bedding. The majority of children lay on bare plastic matresses, with no pillows on which to rest their heads. So for Christmas, I asked friends to donate to a bedding gift list, rather than buy my presents. I collected 120 sheets, 50 pillows and 100 pillow cases - enough for two sets for each of the thirty beds in the new WaterAid children's ward. |
| These linens will have a major impact on children being treated at NPRH. |
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| Rati's parents first took her to the doctor at the tender age of five months, but even though eye cancer was suspected then, she did not see a specialist for another four months, and treatment only commenced at 11months of age. 19 months later, when Rati was 2.5yrs old, she was diagnosed with a recurrence of Rb in the socket of her eye, which had been removed. Doctors could not offer her parents any hope of effective treatment in Africa, and they turned to the internet for help. Read what happened after I received an email from Rati's parents, and how this brave little girl has inspired the foundation of an international charity. |
| Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund (UK registered Charity # 111-11-33 and special fund within Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital Foundation) is dedicated to improving access to essential life and sight saving treatment for children around the world. The fund has a variety of active projects which facilitate communication and co-operation within the global retinoblastoma community, provide opportunities for furtherence of medical training, and support families requiring treatment for their children. The long-term goal is to establish sustainable, locally managed diagnosis and treatment centres throughout the developing world. |