Insight

Andrea Carai: Should childhood cancer also be an issue for the general public?

Photo of Andrea Carai from LinkedIn

Sep 4, 2024, 16:26

Andrea Carai: Should childhood cancer also be an issue for the general public?

Andrea Carai, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“This is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and, as every year, many initiatives are promoted to spread the word about the first cause of death from disease in children.

I have often asked myself if my particular perspective, as a pediatric neurosurgeon, being involved in the daily care of these children is the reason I stress this importance.

But should childhood cancer also be an issue for the general public?

The answer I came up with is yes, for two simple reasons:

Cancer in a child is a devastating bomb that goes off in life.

Its impact goes far beyond the suffering that the kid and his family might experience, but it includes a wave of sorrow and disappointment that touches the lives of many more people- friends, schoolmates and teachers, teammates, in fact, anybody randomly interacting with the sick child and therefore anyone of us.

Cancer in a child can be many things:

-It has a high probability to be curable. The fight through healing is tough but can end up in a joyful victory;
-It is in no way a win-all game. Treatments can still result in lifelong physical and psychological disabilities in a significant proportion of children.

Many will survive their disease but will lose the potential to have an independent life and will have difficulties integrating into society;

-It does not always have a cure. Many children will not be able to make it, despite being offered the best available treatments and their commitment in pursuing them. This means facing the end-of-life issues and the dynamics of siblings at home.

I think it is an extreme privilege to witness how these children and their families face the challenges of treatment, when they win, but also when things do not go the way they should have.

Being with them is an incredible source of inspiration and most certainly gives me a very special perspective of the gift of life and happiness.”

Andrea Carai