Parents of four-year-old Riyan took him to several doctors as he was not able to eat properly and became weak. Four months and several consultations later, he was diagnosed with cancer.
“It was the hemato-oncologist at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, who found it out,” Musthafa C. Mankada, Riyan’s father, and a native of Mankada in Malappuram district, told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Four years down the line, Riyan survived the ordeal and is now a Class 2 student in a local school. There may be less fortunate children too as the State does not have enough specialist doctors to cater to their needs. As the International Childhood Cancer Day is being observed on February 15, the State is yet to have a clear data on the number of child cancer patients too. Unofficial data released by private hospitals put the number of those seeking treatment between 800 and 1,000 a year.
Ajith Kumar, a hemato-oncologist with Government Medical College, Kozhikode, said that around 40,0000 child cancer cases were being registered across the country a year. “In Kerala, there is no solid data on their number though over 50% of patients being registered at the Regional Cancer Centre and medical colleges are from Malabar,” he said.
Mr. Musthafa, who is also the secretary of Pulari, a society providing help to child cancer patients and parents, said lack of specialist doctors was coming in the way of diagnosis and treatment. Though the government is offering free treatment up to three years, many parents were concerned about their kids’ future life. “Our society does not care much how these kids are going to perform in their studies after they survive cancer. They need special attention during the survival period in school as there is always a chance of relapse. Many schools don’t have any facilities for the purpose,” Mr. Musthafa pointed out.
Dr. Ajith, however, said that Kerala has a survival rate of around 70% and parents should bring their children for follow-up treatment in the next three to four years. “Early diagnosis and timely treatment can help, and our aim is to increase the survival rate to 95%. Frequent bouts of fever, anaemia, lumps on their body are the common symptoms.”
