In BiH, 100 children fall ill with cancer annually, the highest number in the Tuzla Canton

(Patria) - The Association Heart for Children with Cancer announced that they welcomed another International Childhood Cancer Day with joy. This year we are marking it
with the slogan “Monitoring Treatment Consequences, Strengthening the Future!”, with the aim of raising public awareness and better understanding the difficulties faced by children with malignant diseases, as well as their families.

On the occasion of this day, the Association “Heart for Children with Cancer” organized a gathering with a theater performance in cooperation with the Youth Theater Tuzla, for children undergoing treatment at the Department of Hematology and Oncology at UKC Tuzla.

The gathering took place at the Parental House Tuzla, a place where children and families spend their best days during the most difficult moments of their lives. 17 families of children with malignant diseases attended the gathering, and the medical team from the hemato-oncology department, with whom they are moving towards recovery, was also present.

In addition to the performance, an exhibition of children's drawings was held in a spirit of peer support, in cooperation with the Public Institution for Preschool Education and Upbringing “Our Child” – kindergarten group Poletarac.

Through cultural activities and gatherings, we are giving children back a piece of their childhood, which is put aside due to the difficult and complex treatment of malignant diseases. We empower them, restore hope and smiles. We restore hope for a better tomorrow and that life exists during and after malignant diseases.

At this very event, we witnessed numerous smiles, children's joy, and fun. Exactly as their lives should be.

1% of the world's child population falls ill with some type of cancer, classifying them as rare diseases. Annually, over 400,000 children worldwide fall ill with malignant diseases, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this number is around 100 children. In FBiH, this figure ranges between 55 and 60 children annually.

The largest number of affected children comes from the Tuzla Canton, with 12-18 new cases annually. The positive aspect is that the recovery rate in BiH is around 80%. The most common disease is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is also the most successfully treated in about 80-85% of cases.