Cuban children with cancer are guaranteed prompt and timely medical attention

Havana, February 16 (RHC)--Thank you to those who give care, relief or cure to our children suffering from cancer. Our solidarity with their families and our commitment to their care. In Cuba, nothing is more important than a child," Cuban President  Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Twitter on the occasion of the International Childhood Cancer Day.

The dater is observed every February 15.

Cuba guarantees prompt and timely medical attention to pediatric cancer treatment, the Ministry of Public Health stressed on its website.

According to Dr. Caridad Verdecia Cañizares, head of the National Commission on Childhood Cancer, around 300 to 400 children with that disease are detected on the island every year.

They are guaranteed free assistance in a national system that has a network of highly specialized centers.

Verdecia Cañizares explained that the most frequent variants of the disease are leukemia (70%), lymphomas (Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's), and central nervous system tumors.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reports that every year more than 400 000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide. In the region of the Americas, it is estimated that in 2020 there were 32 065 new cases in infants aged 0 to 14 years; of these, 20 855 occurred in Latin American and Caribbean countries.