Childhood cancer survivors are the Living Hope for children and their families who are currently struggling with the disease. This project aims to address the lack of post-treatment support for childhood cancer survivors and their caregivers, an often-overlooked aspect of cancer care. Many survivors and their families may experience struggles to navigate life after treatment due to physical complaints or symptoms like anxiety or concentration problems.
We want to make sure that more children stay in follow-up to receive the long-term care they need. You can think of bone tumor survivors with problems or amputation, or retinoblastoma survivors with vision problems. There is also a knowledge gap about the long-term challenges after completion of cancer treatment. This project will also focus on improving social reintegration and reducing stigma faced by childhood cancer survivors.
Through education we aim to make caregivers more aware about the signs and symptoms that a childhood cancer survivor may develop, after completing treatment. This way we hope that childhood cancer survivors do not disappear from care after finishing treatment, but continue discussing their challenges with healthcare providers. We believe it would be helpful for families to get in touch with peers who have experienced a similar trauma, to overcome challenges experienced by childhood survivours.
With survival of children with cancer slowly but steadily improving, Kenya will soon be confronted with an increasing number of survivors with specific needs. This initiative aims to ensure that survival is not the end goal, but we should strive to ensure an optimal quality of life. Knowledge and experiences should be disseminated among the survival community to strengthen their position within the healthcare system.
