Improve Cancer Care for 270 Children in Myanmar

Thank you so much for your kind support of World Child Cancer’s project in Myanmar, where we are working to improve the diagnosis, access to treatment and quality of care for children with cancer.

This past October, we sent a team of volunteer medical specialists from Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital and from Cambridge University Hospitals to provide support at our two partner hospitals in Myanmar: Yangon Children's Hospital and Mandalay Children's Hospital. The volunteers provided hands-on training in clinical treatment and laboratory diagnosis, and held workshops for paediatric oncologists at the hospitals to harmonise treatment protocols and supportive care guidelines for four types of cancer. The visit highlighted a number of areas of support that will need to be attended to in subsequent visits, including improving molecular diagnosis services to aid the diagnosis and treatment of leukaemia.

In September, we organised a training session on early warning signs of childhood cancer for ten paediatricians and nurses from the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. The trainers have cascaded that training to general practitioners to improve the early detection and referral of cancer among children. Since then, we have been regularly bringing together the teams at our partner hospitals and Myanmar Paediatrics Society to revise the early warning signs curriculum to ensure that it is a useful tool for delivering the trainings. The team is currently working on a simplified curriculum for basic health staff to extend the reach of the training and ensure more accurate diagnoses.

Lastly, data from the nutrition support programme we set up at Yangon Children’s Hospital earlier this year has shown that the initiative is having a positive impact on the nutritional status of cancer patients! Some cancers and cancer treatments can affect patients’ appetites and their ability to absorb nutrients from food, thereby worsening their nutritional status. Since the outset of the nutrition programme at YCH, 50% of children supported maintained their nutritional status and 25% improved it.

It is thanks to your support that we can continue to set precedents for the improvement of cancer care in Myanmar. Thank you for helping to give children with cancer the gift of growing up!

MaungKaung is an 11-year-old boy from Southern Myanmar. After he was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2018, his motherOhnKyi’s determination to find a cure led them to Yangon Children’s Hospital, which is supported by World Child Cancer. Because Yangon was two hours away from their home,OhnKyi stopped working in order to stay by her son’s side in the hospital. As a result, she could no longer generate additional funding for his treatment.

In order to adhere to his treatment at the hospital,MaungKaung had to miss school back in his township. As is the case for many children with cancer,MaungKaung’s academic and social life had been disrupted due to his hospital stay. Fortunately, however, he still had access to an education; Yangon Children’s Hospital had recently become home to Heroes School, the only hospital school supported by World Child Cancer and the only such school in Myanmar. Of his many school activities,MaungKaung developed an affinity for his music class, and fell in love with singing. He quickly stood out in the class, leading group songs and inspiring his peers with his passion for music. Undoubtedly, the Heroes School has produced students who areheroes in their own right.

OhnKyi was overjoyed to see her son thriving at the Heroes School.

“I have never anticipated that a school like Heroes School exists in a public hospital. This is incredible! Now I see my son smile and sing. I feel like he is living just like a healthy kid, thanks to those who established this school and to those who continue to support the school, both financially and technically.”

Children with cancer often miss months, and sometimes years, of traditional schooling due to long-term hospital stays, which take a significant toll on both their academic progress and their friendships back home. Access to education during treatment is essential, both in preventing these children from falling behind in school and in helping them readjust to a traditional academic setting upon returning home. Your generous support helps produce more “heroes” likeMaungKaung and ensures that these children can lead healthy lives after cancer.