International Childhood Cancer Day
“We Are One!” On Wednesday, February 15, 2017, the world will come together to honor the hundreds of thousands of children and families the world over whose lives have been forever altered by childhood cancer. We invite you to join us on International Childhood Cancer Day to highlight the critical need for concerted global action to fight this devastating disease. We believe that childhood cancer is curable, and that every child, in every country, has the right to basic health care, to specialized diagnostic tools and advanced treatments, and to a happy, healthy life during and after treatment for childhood cancer.
Childhood cancer affects children and adolescents in every community, in every country, in every part of the world. There are 300,000 new cases of childhood cancer diagnosed every single year around the world: 215,000 in children under the age of 14 and 85,000 in adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19. Yet we believe that many more cases of childhood cancer go unreported due to lack of national and international childhood cancer registries. And we believe that many more cases of childhood cancer go undiagnosed and untreated due to lack of access to even basic medical care, especially in low-income countries.
Childhood Cancer Global Increase
Childhood cancer incidence is increasing globally. In high- and middle-income countries, childhood cancer is the number one cause of non-communicable disease-related death in children and it is on track to overtake infectious disease as one of the highest causes of disease-related deaths in low-income countries. Yet while the number of new childhood cancer cases is growing, equitable treatment for childhood cancer is not. In high-income countries, survival rates for the most common forms of childhood cancer can average 84%, while survival rates in low- and middle-income countries—for those same forms of cancer—may still be as low as 10%. The simple fact is, children in low- and middle-income countries are more likely to die from childhood cancer than children in high-income countries.
ICCD Goal
The goal of International Childhood Cancer Day is to bring awareness to this stark reality and to advocate for “Better access to care for children and adolescents with cancer everywhere.” To make this goal a reality, stakeholders from the healthcare and research communities, parents and families, and community advocates must come together with national governments, civil society organizations, non-profit groups, and local communities to ensure equal access to appropriate care and support at every phase of the childhood cancer journey—from diagnosis through treatment and survivorship. Only by coming together in solidarity with a common goal can we help ensure that children everywhere, in every country, have the chance to survive childhood cancer and live long and meaningful lives.
See what the World Health Organization (WHO) has to say about ICCD, Click Here.
About American Childhood Cancer Organization
American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) is a non-profit charity dedicated to helping kids with cancer and their families navigate the difficult journey from cancer diagnosis through survivorship. Internationally, ACCO is the sole U.S. member of Childhood Cancer International (CCI), the largest patient-support organization for childhood cancer in the world. Here in the United States, ACCO promotes the critical importance of ensuring continued funding into new and better treatment protocols for childhood cancer. And most importantly, ACCO is focused on the children: developing and providing educational tools for children fighting cancer and their families, empowering them in their understanding of childhood cancer and the medical decisions they must make during this difficult journey. All of ACCO’s resources are available free of charge for families coping with childhood cancer.
For additional information about childhood cancer or on the ACCO, or to order resources for you or your child, please visit our website at www.acco.org , call 855.858.2226 or visit: