More than 5 thousand children are now living healthy lives after defeating cancer. This information has come to light in a study conducted under the leadership of Dr. Rachna Seth, Head of Oncology Unit of Pediatric Department of AIIMS Delhi. Even after five years of treatment, about 95 percent of the children are living a completely healthy life.
This study was conducted in 20 centers across the country between 2016 and 2024, the report of which has been published in The Lancet Journal Health this month. This included 5419 cancer survivor children aged 0-18 years. The overall five-year survival rate in the entire group was 94.5 percent and 89.9 percent of the children remained free from the disease.
At the same time, among 2266 children who took post-treatment follow-up for two years, the survival rate for five years was 98.2 percent and 95.7 percent children were found free from the disease. Dr. Rachna Seth said that these children are living a normal life after defeating cancer. To raise awareness, a walkathon will be organized at India Gate on Sunday.
These things were kept in mind during treatment
During treatment, 94.7 percent children were given chemotherapy, while 30.3 percent were given surgery and 26.3 percent were given radiotherapy. More male children were found in the study. A total of 3537 boys and 1812 girls were included. Results were available for 5140 children.
Most acute leukemia (40.9%) was found in children. Apart from this, other cancers including lymphoblastic leukemia (34.4%), Hodgkin lymphoma (12.9%), retinoblastoma (7.4%), bone tumor (8.4%), kidney tumor (4.61%) were also found. According to the study, timely treatment and regular follow-up have strengthened children’s hopes for a healthy future.