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A ray of light for Malang's young kids with cancer
Plaything: A young cancer patient receives a gift from the volunteers of Sahabat Anak Kanker in Malang, East Java
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Plaything: A young cancer patient receives a gift from the volunteers of Sahabat Anak Kanker in Malang, East Java.(Nedi Putra AW)" height="339" border="0" width="510">Plaything: A young cancer patient receives a gift from the volunteers of Sahabat Anak Kanker in Malang, East Java.(Nedi Putra AW)Children with cancer need all the support they can get, not only to fight the disease but also to make up time lost because of lengthy treatment.
When children are diagnosed with cancer, their parents usually react with feelings of confusion, anxiety and anger. These children are fated to lose their childhood, happiness and even schooling because of the long process needed to treat the disease.
This condition has prompted Nur Very Heni Susanto, 31, to strive for the proper passage of their childhood by setting up Sahabat Anak Kanker (Friends of Children with Cancer), the first community of its kind in Malang, East Java.
âChildrenâs worlds are filled with playing and learning, so this community aims to share joy with them to make their life enjoyable like other youngsters,â said Very while visiting child cancer patients at Dr. Saiful Anwar General Hospital in Malang on Sept. 30.
According to hospital doctors, parents react to cancer diagnoses in several phases. At first they show their denial, followed by anger, anxiety, sadness and finally acceptance. The problem will worsen if they remain unwilling to accept the reality.
Health Ministry data show that at least 4,100 children in Indonesia are affected by cancer every year, with symptoms frequently hard to detect. Worse still, there is little information about children with cancer and parents are ignorant of infant or early-age cancer.
The types of cancer mostly afflicting children include leukemia (affecting blood), lymphoma (lymph nodes), osteosarcoma (bones), retinoblastoma (the retina) and brain cancer.
Chemotherapy takes a relatively long time and has to be administered continuously. Child patients have to lie down for about four to eight hours daily; this leads many parents to be impatient and opt instead for non-medical treatment.
Simple happiness: A magicianâs tricks bring laughter to children living with cancer at Dr. Saiful Anwar hospital in Malang, East Java.(Nedi Putra AW)
They often also eventually skip chemotherapy sessions, generally because of the high costs involved. âIn fact, child cancer poses very high risks and is life-threatening unless properly and promptly treated,â Very pointed out.
Instead of assisting with physical treatment, Sahabat Anak Kanker shares experiences with child patientsâ families so as to help them better understand the diseases of their loved ones and relieve the psychological burden on their parents.
Members of the community comprise child cancer survivors, families of child cancer patients and citizens concerned about child patients suffering from cancer. Very himself is the father of Galih Shakti Wishnutama, 4, a leukemia patient. He quit his job and started his own business to devote more time and attention to his son.
He was grateful to see the positive outcome of his sonâs 11-month chemotherapy since 2014, although the score is only 60 percent. With his wife Maya, he has to take care of Galihâs condition â the boy is now extremely vulnerable to other diseases. Flu is not an everyday ailment for Galih, who requires extra care.
âOur hope is that parents can remain enthusiastic and never give up, even if the chance of recovery is only 10 percent,â said Very, stressing the great role of parents. With parentsâ strong determination, at least they can give strong motivation to their children.
His view is shared by his sonâs physician, who maintains that hospital treatment concerns not only formal relations between doctors and patients, but also the creation of a feeling of security and comfort. âItâs normal for a child to be scared of a syringe, but that fear can be reduced,â he added.
Other such communities do already exist, but mostly in Jakarta. The number of child cancer cases in regions tends to increase annually, mostly originating in the lower middle classes with limited access to information about child cancer.
For the moment Veryâs communityâs activity is focused on Dr. Saiful Anwar General Hospital because the East Java provincial administrationâs hospital has been designated as a referral treatment place for regional cancer patients in addition to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya.
âHere we can see child cancer patients from Malang and other regions,â Very said.
During the recent first visit, community volunteers were taken to hospital wards to observe child patients. Parentsâ suspicious glances turned into smiles as they received an explanation about the aims of Sahabat Anak Kanker.
The children displayed their joy as toys and writing materials gathered from donors were distributed to them. Some even took the surprise gifts with intravenous drips still fed into to their arms.
âI couldnât hold back my tears when I saw the very young kids fighting the malignant disease,â said volunteer Asri Pramitasari, 25.
The young patients rejoiced in coloring pictures, playing toys and watching a show of humorous magic tricks. âItâs the first time Iâve seen Galih laughing so heartily since he first received chemotherapy,â admitted Very, moved by the sight of Budi, the magician, acting with his son.
Plaything: <)
Plaything: A young cancer patient receives a gift from the volunteers of Sahabat Anak Kanker in Malang, East Java.(Nedi Putra AW)
Children with cancer need all the support they can get, not only to fight the disease but also to make up time lost because of lengthy treatment.
When children are diagnosed with cancer, their parents usually react with feelings of confusion, anxiety and anger. These children are fated to lose their childhood, happiness and even schooling because of the long process needed to treat the disease.
This condition has prompted Nur Very Heni Susanto, 31, to strive for the proper passage of their childhood by setting up Sahabat Anak Kanker (Friends of Children with Cancer), the first community of its kind in Malang, East Java.
'Children's worlds are filled with playing and learning, so this community aims to share joy with them to make their life enjoyable like other youngsters,' said Very while visiting child cancer patients at Dr. Saiful Anwar General Hospital in Malang on Sept. 30.
According to hospital doctors, parents react to cancer diagnoses in several phases. At first they show their denial, followed by anger, anxiety, sadness and finally acceptance. The problem will worsen if they remain unwilling to accept the reality.
Health Ministry data show that at least 4,100 children in Indonesia are affected by cancer every year, with symptoms frequently hard to detect. Worse still, there is little information about children with cancer and parents are ignorant of infant or early-age cancer.
The types of cancer mostly afflicting children include leukemia (affecting blood), lymphoma (lymph nodes), osteosarcoma (bones), retinoblastoma (the retina) and brain cancer.
Chemotherapy takes a relatively long time and has to be administered continuously. Child patients have to lie down for about four to eight hours daily; this leads many parents to be impatient and opt instead for non-medical treatment.
They often also eventually skip chemotherapy sessions, generally because of the high costs involved. 'In fact, child cancer poses very high risks and is life-threatening unless properly and promptly treated,' Very pointed out.
Instead of assisting with physical treatment, Sahabat Anak Kanker shares experiences with child patients' families so as to help them better understand the diseases of their loved ones and relieve the psychological burden on their parents.
Members of the community comprise child cancer survivors, families of child cancer patients and citizens concerned about child patients suffering from cancer. Very himself is the father of Galih Shakti Wishnutama, 4, a leukemia patient. He quit his job and started his own business to devote more time and attention to his son.
He was grateful to see the positive outcome of his son's 11-month chemotherapy since 2014, although the score is only 60 percent. With his wife Maya, he has to take care of Galih's condition ' the boy is now extremely vulnerable to other diseases. Flu is not an everyday ailment for Galih, who requires extra care.
'Our hope is that parents can remain enthusiastic and never give up, even if the chance of recovery is only 10 percent,' said Very, stressing the great role of parents. With parents' strong determination, at least they can give strong motivation to their children.
His view is shared by his son's physician, who maintains that hospital treatment concerns not only formal relations between doctors and patients, but also the creation of a feeling of security and comfort. 'It's normal for a child to be scared of a syringe, but that fear can be reduced,' he added.
Other such communities do already exist, but mostly in Jakarta. The number of child cancer cases in regions tends to increase annually, mostly originating in the lower middle classes with limited access to information about child cancer.
For the moment Very's community's activity is focused on Dr. Saiful Anwar General Hospital because the East Java provincial administration's hospital has been designated as a referral treatment place for regional cancer patients in addition to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya.
'Here we can see child cancer patients from Malang and other regions,' Very said.
During the recent first visit, community volunteers were taken to hospital wards to observe child patients. Parents' suspicious glances turned into smiles as they received an explanation about the aims of Sahabat Anak Kanker.
The children displayed their joy as toys and writing materials gathered from donors were distributed to them. Some even took the surprise gifts with intravenous drips still fed into to their arms.
'I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw the very young kids fighting the malignant disease,' said volunteer Asri Pramitasari, 25.
The young patients rejoiced in coloring pictures, playing toys and watching a show of humorous magic tricks. 'It's the first time I've seen Galih laughing so heartily since he first received chemotherapy,' admitted Very, moved by the sight of Budi, the magician, acting with his son.
Very said the hospital welcomed the program and hoped it could be continued on a regular basis. But he made a cautious response by planning to evaluate the community's activity. 'We will make regular visits, perhaps every month, but with varying concepts so that the children won't get bored,' he said.
His planned future programs include the preparation of a mini library in the room adjacent to the hospital's children wards. 'We can just call it a book corner, so that they'll have the opportunity to read books while under treatment,' he suggested.
Very also plans to visit schools to impart knowledge of cancer to students, so that kindergarten and primary school children will be familiar with child cancer patients and their struggle to fight this disease.
This will develop the children's empathy and their schools' appreciation in the case of their students undergoing chemotherapy. 'At least they will give special care so that they won't be left far behind their classmates in their lessons,' said Very.
Although it's not the first community of cancer children's friends and observers in Indonesia, Very hopes this modest activity will motivate the same joy-sharing movements in the other cities and districts of East Java.
