Do Children Get Cancer?

Do Children Get Cancer
Yes, Children do get cancer. We see children who have been born with tumours or even those detected while the child is in the mother’s womb to children up to 18 years. These cancers have very different biology as compared to adults, says Dr. Vikas Dua- The best Paediatric Oncologist in India.

How are Pediatric Cancers different from those seen in Adults?

There are many differences between pediatric cancers and those seen in adults. There is now a subspecialty of pediatrics dedicated to this field itself called “Pediatric Oncology” as these children need to be treated very differently.

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Most pediatric cancers are curable. While adults talk about progression-free survival in most adult cancers, pediatric oncologists talk about overall survival. This means that once the child has been treated for cancer and has remained cancer-free for 5 years after the start of therapy, then he/she has the potential to lead a cancer-free life for the rest of their life.

Curability rates for most cancers are approx. 70% with survivors for some cancers being as high as 95%.

The biology of pediatric cancers is different from those in adults. The cancers of adults arise from the mature cells in most cases, while those in children arise from the developing cells, which can divide and mature into different cells. Also, while most adult cancers originate from organs so cancers are called breast cancer, liver cancer, uterine cancer, etc; but pediatric cancers originate from tissues before differentiation. Hence, pediatric cancers generally end with “Blastoma” so Hepatoblastoma, retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, nephroblastoma, etc.

Adult cancers can be associated with lifestyles in a lot of cases, but this is not the case with childhood cancer. There is little that we can do to prevent cancer from happening.

What is the incidence of cancers in Pediatrics?

The incidence of cancers worldwide is approximately 50,000 cases per year. Most of these cases are being reported through hospital-based registries and so the incidence of cancers may be higher than that reported.

What are the kind of cancers you see In Children?

Most people think that children develop blood cancer. Though blood cancer is the commonest, almost 50% of the children will develop solid tumours. Blood cancer is also of different types in children and some blood cancers are seen in adults but rarely seen in pediatrics.

We see a lot of brain tumours, tumours arising from the kidneys, muscles, liver, and the gonads.

Why do children develop cancers?

Pediatric Oncologists believe that 2 or more insults happen – one of them is a defective ability to recognize defective cells and then there is another insult that tips the balance to produce more cancer cells. This 2nd insult could be infections, exposure to cancer-causing agents like some pesticides, insecticides, etc. or the loss of the ozone layer leading to exposure to the harmful rays of the sun or some other radiation exposure. We do not know exactly what caused the balance to tip, but we can now identify the change that has occurred.

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How do we treat children with cancer?

Treatment of pediatric cancers is a multi-modality treatment. Depending on the type of cancer treatment may be chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation or a combination of 2 or more of these. Not just these, we also need the help of a dietician to manage the nutrition of the children, and psychologists to meet the needs of these children as they spend a lot of time in the hospital and away from their peers. They also need to continue to be stimulated and study as they are still growing. We aim to be able to say that the child will grow to be a normal human being so we need to make sure that they are ready to face the world and be able to contribute to society.

Is the treatment of children very expensive?

Since the treatment involves multimodality care, treatment can become expensive. However, there are many institutions, NGO and even the government supporting the care of children with cancer. It can be daunting for young parents to deal with the diagnosis of their child and then to consider the cost of the treatment. But unless we persevere, then we would not be able to get help and will not be able to cure the child.

Dr. Vikas Dua, the best Paediatric Oncologist in India says in India, we see a lot of abandonment of care for children with children. It becomes important for us to spread the awareness that pediatric cancers are curable and that there is help available if we seek it. The need of the hour is to spread awareness for childhood cancer.

Dr. Vikas Dua is the Best Pediatric Oncologist in India and one of the leading consultants in the field of Pediatric Hemato Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplants. He has 20+ Years of experience and has performed many successful BMTs for thalassemia and leukaemia cases for children from India, Afghanistan, Iraq, and African Countries. Dr. Vikas assists children in understanding and coping with their diagnosis. He is not only skilled in treating diseases; he knows how to interact with children and teenagers to help them through this experience.

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Fortis Memorial Research Institute

Number of beds:   1000
ICU Beds:     298
Airport Distance:  17 KMs

Brief About:

Fortis Memorial Research Institute was established in 2001.
It is an outstanding multi-speciality quaternary care hospital,having the top-notch infrastructure, advanced equipment, highly qualified and experienced medical professionals and super sub-specialists.
Fortis Hosptial Gurgaon is an advanced centre of excellence in Robotic Surgery, Neurosciences, Oncology, Renal Sciences, BMT, Organ Transplants, Orthopaedics, Cardiac Sciences and Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

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JCI & NABH Accredited Hospital, NABL Accredited Lab, NABH Certified Nursing Excellence, NABH Accredited Blood Bank
FMRI is a 1000 bedded and 15 Operation theaters and over 400 diagnostics centres (including JVs).
Medical facility endowed with a dedicated team of 200 world-renowned doctors, covering a number of specialities, who aim to provide the best quality medical care to all the patients, national as well as international.
This hospital is well set up with the latest technologies and equipment throughout all the specialties and research labs, which are accredited by NABL.
This ensures that the patients at FMRI receive diagnostic results and treatment with high accuracy and in minimum time.
With a vision for the community, FMRI operates various speciality clinics such as, for Paediatrics, Nephrology, Neurology, Gynecology, Orthopedics, Oncology and many more, which provide long term healthcare management and follow up care.
FMRI is the premium healthcare provider and endeavours to be known as the “Mecca of Medicine” – the ultimate healthcare destination.

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Dr. Rahul Bhargava

Specialist: Hematologic Oncologist, BMT
Experience: 23+ years of experience
Hospital: Fortis Memorial Research Institute

About Doctor:

Rahul Bhargava is a Leading Haemato-oncologist in India with over 23+ years of experience.
He has performed 100+ adult bone marrow transplants which are record-breaking in the whole of North India.
He is a Director of Haematology & Bone Marrow Transplant at Fortis Memorial Research Institute hospital, Gurgaon.

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He has successfully completed 400+ transplants to his credit.
Brings along with him an International experience; worked in Vancouver, Canada where he specifically trained in Umbilical cord transplant.
Member of various prestigious organizations, American Society of Bone Marrow Transplant, American Society of Paediatric Haemato-Oncology, International Society of Paediatric Oncology to name a few.
During his extensive career, Dr. Bhargava has dealt with enumerable adult and paediatric patients suffering from a wide range of Congenital and Acquired ailments. This includes Acute and Chronic blood conditions such as Blood Cancers, bleeding disorders along with inherited immune deficiency syndromes and metabolic disorders.
He is the first Indian doctor to perform and propagate a Stem Cell Transplant procedure for patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis
The first Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplant in Gurgaon was performed by him on a patient suffering from Fanconi Anaemia patient

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Dr. Vikas Dua

Specialist: Pediatric Oncologist
Experience: 15 years of experience
Hospital: Fortis Memorial Research Institute

About Doctor:

Dr Vikas Dua is one the leading consultants in the field of Pediatric- Hemato-oncology & bone marrow transplant.
He has an experience of over 21+ years and has performed several successful BMTs for thalassemia and leukaemia cases for children from India, Afghanistan, Iraq and African Countries.
Dr. Dua has completed his MBBS & MD (Paediatrics) from PGIMS, Rohtak .Following which he did his Fellowship in DNB (Paediatrics) from Sri Ganga Ram.

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He has also done his Advanced Fellowship in Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant from National University Hospital, Singapore and also did his training in child BMT from the renowned, St. Jude’s Children research Hospital Memphis
Dr Vikas Dua bagged many national and international awards for his outstanding work in Paediatrics BMT
Dr Dua has his expertise in paediatric haematology and bone marrow transplantation.

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We offers these Services

Providing a doctor’s opinion and proper quotation
Selecting the best hospital and doctor as per your case
Arranging a call with the doctor (if the case required)
Visa assistance, Providing Visa Invitation Letter (VIL)
Providing full guidance how to get Visa from your country
Providing total cost including treatment, air tickets, accommodation, and food
Assitance to book flight ticket from your country
Arranging airport pick up/ drop
Providing professional language interpreter
Booking accommodation and guest house as per your budget/ prefrence
Providing help in money exchanging
Providing local sim card
Arranging video consultation with specialist doctor if case requires

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