Around 10,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in Pakistan every year, but fewer than 30 percent survive due to delayed diagnosis, limited treatment facilities, and financial barriers, health experts said at an awareness session organized by Indus Hospital & Health Network.
Speaking at the “Health Wise” session on childhood cancer, experts noted that nearly 400,000 children and adolescents worldwide develop cancer annually. About 80 percent of these cases occur in low- and middle-income countries.
While survival rates in developed nations exceed 80–85 percent, outcomes in developing countries remain significantly lower because of late detection and limited access to specialized care.
Dr. Naeem Jabbar, Consultant Pediatric Haematology-Oncology, said most childhood cancers are curable if diagnosed and treated in time.
“Unlike adult cancers, most childhood cancers have no clearly defined cause and are not linked to lifestyle factors. With timely and appropriate treatment, cure rates can reach up to 85 percent,” he said.
He explained that poor survival rates in Pakistan are mainly due to delayed recognition of symptoms, inadequate supportive care, a shortage of trained specialists, limited access to specialized centers, and high rates of treatment abandonment.
The most common childhood cancers include leukemia, lymphoma, brain and spinal tumors, bone tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, and retinoblastoma.
Experts said treatment options such as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy are available and effective when started early.
Responding to media questions, Dr. Shumail Ashraf, Consultant Pediatric Oncology and Executive Director of the Medical Services Directorate, said late presentation remains the biggest challenge.
He added that the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department in Karachi registers around 1,000 new cases annually. Since 2014, more than 16,000 children have been treated, and approximately 1,300 are currently undergoing treatment at any given time.
Dr. Muhammad Rafi Raza, Consultant Pediatric Oncology, addressed common misconceptions, emphasizing that childhood cancer is not contagious and cannot spread through contact. He said cancer does not always mean death and that early diagnosis and proper treatment significantly improve survival chances.
Experts further stressed that early diagnosis saves lives and urged parents, teachers, healthcare providers, and media professionals to raise awareness so that every child has an equal chance at life.
Yeah no amount of donation is going to help. Cancer treatment should be made affordable by govt policy.
These donation tactics don’t work