654 kids (mostly poor) with cancer in Panama

THE NUMBER  of detected children’s cancer cases in Panama has increased dramatically in the last four years  as  people become aware of the warning signs.

There  are roughly 150 cases of cancer in children recorded per year, based on the records of hospitals that treat the disease

The figure exceeds the average reported as recently as four years ago in Panama, when there were approximately 90 to 100 cases reported annually.

“People are now more attentive of the signs,” said Karina Quintero Delgado, director of the Pediatric Oncology Unit at the Children’s Hospital. “Before, these patients died at home without a diagnosis.”

As of April, Panama had 654 child cancer patients and most of them (56 percent) came from areas of extreme poverty.

About half the cases are some kind of leukemia.

The statistics were released at the start of the 10th annual radio-a-thon to raise funds for cancer treatments reports La Prensa