THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) revealed during the Kapehan sa Dabaw on Monday morning, September 4, at SM City Davao that the hospital and its shared care facilities are currently treating 376 new pediatric cancer patients, representing only 25 percent of the expected number of children diagnosed with cancer.
According to a press release from SPMC, there are approximately 5,000 cases of children and adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer in the Philippines each year, with 1,500 of these cases originating from Mindanao.
However, the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City, Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City, La Vina General Hospital, Inc. in Valencia City, St. Elizabeth Hospital in General Santos City, and SPMC are currently handling only 376 new pediatric cancer patients, constituting a quarter of the expected annual diagnoses.
The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted the number of pediatric cancer patients, with only 268 cases reported in 2020. However, by 2022, there was an increase of 81 cases, resulting in 349 patients. For 2023, SPMC and its shared care facilities cater to 527 old and new cancer cases.
Among all the patients treated by SPMC and its partner medical institutions, most are afflicted with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which has a 50 percent survival rate, and retinoblastoma, an eye cancer.
Dr. Mae Concepcion Dolendo, the founding president of the House of Hope and head of the Cancer Institute, explained that several factors can contribute to childhood cancer, including environmental pollutants and family predisposition.
Dolendo said that to reduce cancer risk, individuals should avoid smoking, refrain from drinking alcohol, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. She stated that a strong immune system can help fend off mutated genes that cause cancer.
As a low-middle-income country, the Philippines has a childhood cancer survival rate of only 30 percent. Several factors contribute to this low survival rate, including a lack of understanding of childhood cancer, a shortage of pediatric cancer specialists and referral facilities, financial constraints, geographical remoteness, and disadvantaged locations, especially in Mindanao.
Currently, SPMC has only four pediatric oncologists. As an end referral center for pediatric cancer in Mindanao, the number of staff is insufficient to meet the demand. The ratio between oncologists and patients in the hospital is one to 180. Still, efforts are underway to train more doctors to increase the number of oncologists, reducing the ratio to one to 81.
SPMC has also established the Mindanao Pediatric Cancer Care Network, a collaboration between private and public medical institutions. Its primary goal is to transport children with cancer to specialist centers.
Dolendo expressed hope that with the support of government agencies and private institutions, people will have improved access to cancer medication. RGP