Physical Health Philippines Project #17479

Cancer care for 100 children in the Philippines

by World Child Cancer USA

Project Report | Jun 4, 2015
June 2015 Update

By LeAnn Fickes | Executive Director

Project Lead Dr. Mae Dolendo & a patient

Dear friends,

Thank you for helping children with cancer in the Philippines! We'd like to thank you for your continued support and give you an update on our progress.

Our project lead and pediatric oncologist at the Southern Philippines Medical Center, Dr. Mae Dolendo, sends an update on how your support helps:

"World Child Cancer has allowed us to expand our reach across Mindanao so that more children with cancer will have access to care. Through the Mindanao Pediatric Cancer Care Network (MPCCN), our pediatric oncology team at Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) is able to create satellites of healthcare professionals and generate local support in key areas of Mindanao. Our patients can have some or all of their treatment delivered closer to their homes, mothers can continue to care for other children and fathers can continue to work, which empowers families and helps sustainability of treatment. This in turn improves chances of survival and optimizes use of limited resources."

We've also got some great news: the pediatric oncology ward at the Butuan City Medical Center (BCM) is our newest satellite center. Dr. Dolendo visited the BCM this month and was impressed by the dedicated team of medical professionals and supportive hospital administration and local government. The team at BCM is now part of the MPCCN and staff will benefit from trainings and support from Dr. Dolendo and her team at the SPMC. With your support, children in Butuan will be able to receive care and treatment closer to where they live, increasing the number of children who complete treatment and ultimately improving survival rates.

Thanks to your contributions, many patients have received life-saving treatment and care. We have increased our goal of helping 50 children to helping 100 children to respond to the increase in demand and the new satellite center at BCM. The team needs your help: can you please donate to train more nurses and doctors, subsidize the cost of chemotherapy drugs and treatment costs at our satellite centers? You can also help by sharing our project page with your friends, family, and coworkers: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/cancer-care-for-50-children-in-the-philippines/ Thank you!

THANK YOU once again for partnering with us and allowing us to continue to help children in the Philippines. Please contact me at leann.fickes@worldchildcancer.us if you have any questions or would like more information - we're always happy to hear from you.

Childhood cancer team at Davao Regional Hospital

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Mar 6, 2015
Update from the Field: Learn how you helped Grace

By LeAnn Fickes | Operations and Development Manager

Liz, Ed, Dr. Dolendo, patients, families & medics

Dear friends,

We'd like to thank you for your continued support and give you an update on our progress. To date, you've helped us raise over $5,000, which can fund the salary of a local oncology nurse at a hospital in the Mindanao Pediatric Cancer Network for one year. Nurses are instrumental in delivering treatment and care to children with cancer and your help makes it possible for local nurses to receive training and support. Thank you!

At the end of January, members of World Child Cancer's Operations team, Liz Burns and Ed Minor, visited the hospitals in the Mindanao Pediatric Cancer Network (MPCN) where they met with local childhood cancer teams, patients, and families. The network ensures that patient shared care works effectively; established and sustained relationships between teams in different locations, mean more children are referred in time for treatment. Since World Child Cancer began supporting the MPCN in 2009, many more children are completing their treatment and survival rates have increased from less than 20% to over 60%.

During their visit, Liz and Ed traveled to General Santos City where they visited St. Elizabeth Hospital, one of the satellite centers in the MPCN. Its position in the south means many families who would find it difficult to reach Davao have a reliable place to come for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The team have two beds available for children with cancer, provided free of charge, even though it's a private hospital. Maria Christina (doctor), Camille (nurse) and Lovebel (admin assistant) take care of the patients here and maintain close communication with Dr. Dolendo who visits regularly to hold case consultations.

Liz and Ed also met with patients and their families at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Families discussed the difficulties of accessing treatment due to cost and they said how wonderful it was to receive the support they do through the pediatric cancer network in Mindanao. Grace, a friendly ten-year-old girl who lives on the outskirts of General Santos City, travels by bus with her Mom every three months to St. Elizabeth Hospital for maintenance chemotherapy. Grace loves seeing her friends at the House of Hope in Davao (a hostel for patients and their families) and attending school, where she likes to write stories and her favorite subject is English. Thanks to the amazing medical team and your support, children like Grace are able to complete the full-course of cancer treatment and return to school and being kids.

World Child Cancer is dedicated to supporting project lead Dr. Mae Dolendo and her team as they continue to develop childhood cancer services across Mindanao. Expertise at and communication between hospitals on this diverse island will – and has already – improved treatment for and care of children with cancer and their families. Your generosity is helping us reach more children with cancer and we are very grateful for your support.

Camille, Maria and Lovebel - the team at SEH

Grace, 10 year old patient at SEH

Links:

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Dec 8, 2014
Nober Celebrates 4 Years Cancer-free

By LeAnn Fickes | Operations and Development Manager

Childhood Cancer Survivor, Nober

Dear friends,

Thank you for your continued support! We'd like to update you on our progress and our plans for 2015 and beyond.

In 2009 when we began working on the island of Mindanao, less than 30% of children with cancer survived. Today, thanks to project lead Dr. Mae Dolendo and her incredible staff, 60% of children survive the most commonly diagnosed cancers. One of Dr. Dolendo's first patients, Nober, has celebrated four years cancer free. Nober was one-and-a-half years old when he was diagnosed with a cancer of the soft tissue. When he arrived at the hospital in Davao City he was unable to walk because the tumor he had was compressing his spinal column. He received chemotherapy treatment for one-year and is now a healthy five-year-old. Thanks to your support, we can provide treatment and follow-up care for patients like Nober.

Over the last 5 years World Child Cancer, in partnership with the National University Hospital Singapore and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has enabled Dr. Dolendo a dedicated and skilled physician at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), to:

Establish 4 satellite Pediatric Oncology satellite centers around the island of Mindanao. This network of satellite Pediatric Oncology centers is known as the Mindanao Pediatric Cancer Care Network (MPCCN).
Improve the training for doctors and nurses and support staff with regards to diagnosis, treatment, and curative/palliative care of children with cancer at the SPMC hub hospital.
Address the treatment abandonment issue and raise community awareness of the early signs and symptoms of childhood cancer.
Establish an on-line childhood cancer database that not only provides a more reliable picture of the number of patients, types of cancer and improved survival rates; but also enables medical staff to track treatment and ensure long-term patient follow

Last month we committed to funding our project in the Philippines for an additional 5 years. Great progress has been made, but more children like Nober need our help to be able to access cancer treatment where they live. Having the satellite network enables our project to reach more children over a wider geographical area; these children would not be able to access the main hospital due to transportation issues and remoteness of where they live.

With your help, many patients have received life-saving treatment of the past year. However, the increase in the number of patients accessing treatment - a very positive development - must be matched by increased resources. The team needs your help: can you please donate to train more nurses and doctors, subsidize the cost of chemotherapy drugs and treatment costs at our satellite centers?

You can also help by sharing our project page with your friends, family, and coworkers: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/cancer-care-for-50-children-in-the-philippines/

Thank you for partnering with us and allowing us to continue to help children in the Philippines. Please contact me at leann.fickes@worldchildcancer.us if you have any questions or would like more information - we're always happy to hear from you.

Happy holidays and best wishes,

The World Child Cancer USA Team

Nober and his Grandmother

Map of Satellite Centers in Mindanao

Project Lead Dr. Mae Dolendo & a patient

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