Parents urged to bring children to hospital for cancer treatment

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) -- Parents with children suffering from cancer have been urged not to seek alternative treatment unless advised by their doctors.


Parents Group and Cancer Child Support (KIDS) advisor Dr Nor Azizah Mohd Taib  said there were parents who chose to refuse treatment for their children because they have been influenced by the fact that cancer treatment such as chemotherapy would have adverse effect.


"I am very disappointed with parents who bring their children to the hospital when their condition has worsened or by which time it is already too late, only to blame the hospital when the patients fail to recover," she told reporters at the Jom KIDS Raya gathering at Wisma Bernama here today.


On the contrary Dr Nor Azizah said if detected early, children who undergo chemotherapy treatment would have 80 to 90 per cent chance of survival.


Sadly she said, certain groups of people who associate cancer with death and no hope of healing, have succeeded in influencing parents to make hospitals as the last choice to seek treatment for their children.


Meanwhile Dr Nor Azizah reminded parents to be careful when uploading photographs of their children suffering from chronic diseases, for the purpose of seeking donations or support.


Though it was not wrong for parents to resort to such measures she said, there should be some form of censorship as some of the photographs could be very disturbing.


"Uploading photographs of children with a large tumour in the eye, on the hand or head can be humiliating to the children, so parents should try to conceal the faces," she said.


Alternatively she said parents could use photographs of their children when they were much healthier or in the early stage of the disease and just describe the child's chronic condition.


KIDS, a non-governmental organisation was established by a group of parents with children suffering from cancer being treated at the Oncology Ward, Pediatrics Institute, Kuala Lumpur Hospital with the aim to get parents and caregivers together to provide emotional support and share  experiences.


-- BERNAMA