Alejandra Mendez, Vice President of Childhood Cancer International, recognized among 100 Influential Women in Oncology in 2025 by OncoDaily, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Deeply honoured to have participated as a speaker in the side event ‘Childhood Cancer in the Global NCD Agenda: A Call to Action for Lifelong Integration and Access to Care,‘ held on the margins of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
It was a beautiful and meaningful space to bring the voices of people with lived experience into a global conversation about childhood cancer survivorship.
As Childhood Cancer International, we are proud to represent the global voice of people with lived experience – children, adolescents, survivors, parents, caregivers and families affected by childhood cancer. Personally, I felt deeply honoured and proud to help carry that voice into this important discussion.
My message was simple: cancer does not end when treatment ends.
When a child celebrates their last chemotherapy, it is an emotional and joyful moment – but it is not the end of the journey. For many survivors and families, it is the beginning of a new and often uncertain path: the journey of survivorship.
We need to ask the right question: What is success in childhood cancer care?
Is it only completing treatment?
Or is it making sure that every child who survives can return to school, receive long-term follow-up, access mental health support, plan a future, and live with dignity, opportunity and hope?
Too many survivors continue to face long-term effects in their physical health, cognitive development, mental health, fertility, education, employment opportunities and financial stability – often without guidance, information or a clear path for support.
This is a hidden crisis in childhood cancer care.
My call to action is clear: survivorship must be embedded into national cancer plans, NCD strategies, primary health care, Universal Health Coverage benefit packages and research agendas.
Because children with cancer deserve more than survival.
They deserve a real chance to live a good life.
Thank you to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, World Health Organization , NCD Alliance , International Society of Paediatric Oncology – SIOP , UNICEF and all partners for creating this important space and for recognizing the value of survivor and family voices in shaping better, more humane and more equitable systems of care.”
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