The effects of inadequate treatment |
Do you find it alarming that only 4% of national funding for cancer research is used for pediatrics?We do. And that's why we've committed to donating all of our proceeds to pediatric cancer research. Worldwide, a child is diagnosed with cancer every 3 minutes. Of those diagnosed, 1 in 5 children in the US will not survive five years past diagnosis. Of those who survive, 2/3 will suffer long-term effects from the treatment, often in the form of a secondary cancer, heart or lung damage (and even failure), infertility, loss or damage to eyesight, the list does not end.
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Childhood cancers behave differently than adult cancers, yet often the same drugs used to treat adult cancers are used in kids (but in higher doses because children's bodies can better recover). However, the long term effects (10, 20, or even 50 years) are usually not factored into adult cancer treatments, because adults are not expected to live 50 years after diagnosis. Kids, with the average age of diagnosis 6, would likely live beyond 50 years after diagnosis had they not been diagnosed. The likelihood of getting a side effect increases with age, and the intense chemo treatments given to children also increases the chance of short-term and long-term side effects. Although the long term effects usually don't drastically change adult quality of life, it completely changes the worlds of pediatric cancer patients. In order to allow more pediatric cancer patients to live (and live free of life-changing side effects), new treatments need to be found to better treat pediatric patients. To do this, research specifically geared towards pediatric cancers needs to take place, as pediatric cancers behave differently than adult cancers. Tying Up Cancer donates its proceeds to pediatric cancer research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in an effort to raise awareness for pediatric cancers and to support research.