Sometimes a child or even an infant is affected by cancer. Sometimes a newborn baby is born with a cancerous tumor. However, cancer in a child is not a sentence. The most important thing is a quick, accurate diagnosis and when the child goes to the oncologist and starts cancer treatment - says professor Andrzej Prokurat, president of the Polish Pediatric Oncology Action.
When should it be suspected that a child may be at risk of a genetic cancer?
Prof. Andrzej Prokurat, pediatric surgeon, oncologist, provincial consultant for pediatric surgery, head of the Department and Clinic of Pediatric Surgery in Bydgoszcz: - Knowledge about diseases occurring among relatives is extremely important. We are a very family nation, we meet often. We know a lot about our roots and the fate of relatives, but, unfortunately, not about their diseases. And that needs to be changed. If it turns out that in particular generations somecanceris clearly repeated, it should be an excuse to contact a genetic counseling center. There are quite a few of these clinics in Poland, especially in the north of the country. It is a good idea to go there to calm down if your concerns are not medically justified, or to undergo detailed examination when the risk does exist. We already know that many cancers run in families: for example, tumors of the adrenal gland, thyroid gland, colon, ovaries or the nipple. The age at whichcancerattacks is systematically decreasing. Sometimes the disease develops even ininfants . That is why it is so important to take care of entire families. Diagnostics allows not only to predict the future and discover who is particularly at risk of cancer, but also to implement appropriate treatment on time.
Often parents are afraid of cancer diagnosing tests, because it is a kind of "looking for a problem".
- Unfortunately, cancer is still an embarrassing topic in Poland. The fact that someone fell ill with cancer is sometimes perceived as a punishment for something, the effect of life failure. So people avoid the subject. Often, even observing disturbing symptoms, they wait until they disappear on their own. When they see a doctor, the disease turns out to be very advanced. Then hysteria and nervous actions dictated by fear appear, and this interferes with the healing process.
Many people even at the time of diagnosisalready existing cancer has a strong fear of starting treatment. There is still a perception that only a "broken" tumor wreaks havoc in the body. The belief that "cancer is afraid of the knife" is firmly entrenched. It came from the observation that more than once a patient who suffered from a cancer disease somehow functioned with it until he underwent surgery. And it has some justification in the facts, but very outdated. Cancer is indeed defending itself against the knife. When his tissue is damaged, repair mechanisms are triggered similar to those in the wound healing process. Therefore, we have already deviated from the treatment regimen in which surgery in malignant tumors was the only method. Today, before the procedure, we determine exactly which type of cancer we are dealing with and design the appropriate procedure. We do not provoke the tumor to develop, but with the help of chemotherapy, we damage it to a large extent, so that later it can be operated more easily.
Are there other, typical for young children, apart from hereditary cancers?
- Yes, tumors that begin in utero. In the embryo, all tissue development processes are extremely active. There are systems that eliminate errors, but if this fails, sometimes the tissue that should disappear or transform is out of control and gives rise to cancer. Usually, such a neoplasm is detected shortly after delivery, because it is characterized by exceptional division dynamism, which in practice means a rapid increase in the tumor mass.
It's a terrifying feature.
- Yes, but also the tumor's Achilles heel. It is easy to recognize it - the tumor is often visible because it deforms the shell, and if not, it is detected during routine ultrasound - and it is hit with drugs in the phases of cell division, so effectively destroy it.
So is treating cancer in children also easier?
- In a way. A child is an easy-to-interpret picture. Everything is visible after it, so often without detailed research we can evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy and, if necessary, introduce modifications. The child is not aware of the disease, and at the same time does not dramatize or exaggerate. If his condition improves, it can be seen. On the other hand, adults often, even unknowingly, mislead the doctor.
And how do parents deal with a child's cancer?
- We usually observe one of three attitudes: downplaying, fear bordering on hysteria, or an attempt to rationalize the problem, join the recovery process. The latter parents are looking for information, they ask many questions, usually with themthe easiest way to talk. Unfortunately, the widespread fear of cancer makes it not so many. Most people are not even convinced by the optimistic statistics that show that we are not really helpless in the fight against cancer, or the fact that our children need them very much now.
Perhaps it is because of fear not only of cancer, but also of how the child will handle it?
- Certainly. After all, staying in the hospital and taking medications make it impossible to function normally,
they disrupt everyday life. However, children are truly patient, brave patients and often show incredible maturity when faced with illness. Sometimes they do better than their parents. Recovery would be more comfortable if they received the support they needed.
Do children in Poland have a chance to be treated at the highest world level, comparable to Western standards?
- Absolutely. Of course, there are good and worse doctors, better and worse facilities, but this is the case all over the world.
Not only the living conditions in which small patients are treated are systematically improving. We already have modern interiors, friendly, colorful surroundings, the possibility of parents staying in the ward. The availability of modern drugs and technologies is also improving. The West is not escaping us as much as it is commonly believed.
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