The Daily Mail is today launching a major campaign with Cancer Research UK to raise money for children and young people with cancer.
Every day at least a dozen families receive the devastating news that their child has cancer and may need life-changing treatment to survive.
With new figures showing that childhood cancer rates are set to increase by a fifth over the next two decades, the call to action has been stronger than ever. Cancer Research UK estimates that by 2040 a further 92,760 people under the age of 25 will be diagnosed with cancer in the UK.
That’s why the newspaper has partnered with the charity to launch the Fighting to Beat Children’s Cancer campaign.
Around 5,090 young lives are turned upside down every year – an increase of almost 20 per cent from the 4,280 over the past 12 months. We are asking our generous readers to donate money to help fund studies and develop new treatments to turn the tide against cancer.
Could these new treatments mean that children don’t need traditional medicine for adult cancer?
Could these new treatments mean that children don’t need traditional medicine for adult cancer?
Almost all drugs currently used to treat tumors in children are developed and tested based on how cancer behaves in adults [File photo]
All funds raised will support Cancer Research UK’s work on childhood and adolescent cancer to help more 0-24 year olds survive cancer with a good quality of life. It is hoped that the collaboration will help test life-saving new drugs on thousands of children each year, potentially benefiting future generations.
The charity’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said “massive progress” had been made in some cancers but many were “behind”. She warned that around 93,000 children and young adults could expect to be diagnosed with cancer in the UK over the next two decades.
She said: “They need access to treatments that not only give them the best chance of survival, but minimize side effects during treatment and in the decades that follow.” Our research has already led to more effective and gentler treatments for cancers that affect children, such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney and liver cancer, but we still need to do more.
“While we have made tremendous progress in improving survival rates for some cancers, many are lagging behind as treatments are at the limit of what patients and their families can tolerate.
“With the support of Daily Mail readers, we can improve the future of children and young people with cancer and help them survive their disease with a better quality of life.”
Cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related death among young people in the UK, with one in five people diagnosed with death – around 500 a year.
Unlike adult cancers, which are blamed on factors such as obesity, little is known about the causes of childhood cancer, apart from better diagnostics and theories about environmental factors such as pollution.
DR Laura Danielson, head of childhood cancer research at Cancer Research UK, said it was “worrying” that childhood cancer was on the rise, but improvements in death rates showed that breakthroughs in treatment were saving lives.
Celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and his wife Michelle describe the harrowing experience of watching their six-week-old undergo chemotherapy – as we launch our campaign to find gentler cancer drugs for children…
Valentino had never cried before. Then one day I saw a red tear gently rolling down his cheek. It hit us like a brick.
“We don’t know exactly why the number of cases in children and adolescents is increasing,” she said. “This is why it is so important that we continue our important research to learn more about how cancer develops, such as the research we are funding to understand how errors in the development of blood cells cause certain types of childhood leukemia. “
Tremendous advances in treatment have increased the 5-year survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) from seven to nine out of ten patients since the 1980s.
But others with solid tumors remain stubbornly low, and more research is urgently needed. The campaign aims to support research into studies on cancers with low survival rates such as brain tumors and sarcomas.
Almost all diagnosed patients now undergo chemotherapy, with drug combinations that are particularly grueling for young patients whose bodies are still growing. Since the 1970s, Cancer Research UK has helped prevent almost 30,000 deaths of children and adolescents in the UK.
Achievements to date include the development of a test for an inherited form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma, where earlier treatment means almost every child now survives. The team of experts have developed more than 50 chemotherapy medicines and today more than three out of four patients receiving chemotherapy from the NHS receive a medicine that we have been involved in.
The new campaign aims to continue that work and ensure that every child has access to the best treatments and research.
We know money is tight this Christmas, but we’re asking readers to dig deep again to help this worthy cause to increase the survival rates of children with cancer.
The donations will go to a range of charities, including support for the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, a world-leading center that brings children to trial to test new and better medicines.
Julia Chisholm, NHS England’s National Adviser on Children’s Cancer, said: “The NHS has made great strides in treating children and young people with cancer in recent years.
“It is important that we build on the great progress we have made in recent years. Research is vital to ensure we can offer the best treatments for young people with cancer in the NHS, which is why the Mail’s Christmas awareness campaign is fantastic.’
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Important care that Jasper helped to fix everything
A combination of remarkable courage and prompt treatment saw Jasper Johnson beat cancer in just 75 days.
The seven-year-old was diagnosed with the rare blood cancer Burkitt non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January after stomach cramps and weight loss.
Scans showed he had an intussusception – in which part of the bowel turns inwards like a telescope – and that he needed emergency surgery that day.
Tests on the removed part showed it was cancerous, and he immediately began chemotherapy, which would cure him of the disease. After two rounds of treatment, Jasper was given full time in early April.
Seven-year-old Jasper was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, Burkitt non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in January after stomach cramps and weight loss
Mama Brenda said it was a “hurricane” that turned the family’s lives upside down.
The 45-year-old chef, from Allbrook, near Southampton, said: “It’s a terrible journey and ours was so short compared to other people’s. But when he called [on leaving hospital at the end of treatment] it was so happy and so wonderful. I kept crying, I couldn’t stop. So much emotion comes up.’
Jasper’s father, Richard (43), remembers the moment when they received the news every parent dreads.
After his son’s operation at Southampton General Hospital, they were asked to return for a post-operative examination. “We sat down with three doctors and they explained that the offending piece of tissue they analyzed came back with some abnormalities,” he said.
“I asked her straight out: ‘Is it cancer? The surgeon replied, “Yes.” I asked if it was fatal, but he said it was treatable. The rest was just a blur.”
Tests showed the cancer was caught early and had not spread, but that Jasper would need chemotherapy to ensure all traces were gone.
Mr. Johnson, an air traffic controller, said they would then have to explain to Jasper that he needed more treatment and break the news to his older sister Isobel, now 11.
He said: “We told him he had an infection and the doctors had to give him medicine to get rid of it. We said the drug could make him sick and make his hair fall out and he might need some tests to make sure the bug isn’t hiding somewhere.
“We told him if the bug is still there, he can be given more medicine to make sure it doesn’t come back.”
Jasper received two rounds of chemotherapy, with Cancer Research UK playing a key role in the development.
Ms Johnson said: “Our adviser explained that this is a treatment that has been used for the last 15 to 20 years because it works.
“The fact that they knew what it was, knew exactly what treatment was required, that’s what makes something so unbearable, bearable to hear.
“You have the answer, here’s what’s going to happen, this is the timeline and this is the medicine you’re going to get… it’s clear.
But this is not the case for everyone, and it should be. Everyone should be able to hear “we’re going to do it” and kick cancer’s ass.
“That’s why people should donate to them, because that’s what cancer research does – it works.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
