Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHealthworld, spoke to Purnota Dutta Bahl, CEO &
Founder, Cuddles Foundation, to know more about nutritional challenges associated
with paediatric oncology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What have been the major nutritional challenges for children diagnosed with cancer? How was paediatric oncology impacted by the pandemic? The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably affected paediatric oncology services worldwide, The pandemic has also exacerbated the emotional burden on patients and family members At Cuddles specifically we quickly pivoted to counselling patients and caregivers over the We also saw a drop in CSR funding for the cause given that funds had to be allocated to Understanding children with cancer are either already malnourished at diagnosis or develop malnutrition as they proceed with treatment. The scientific position is well known: addressing malnutrition at the very outset leads to better treatment outcomes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>As per the Indian Journal of Cancer estimates 40% of children with cancer are already
malnourished at diagnosis. Research also suggests that children with cancer are at a high
risk of becoming malnourished even if they may be well-nourished at diagnosis. The nature
of the disease and the side-effects of the treatment are such. The scientific position is
therefore to address nutrition at the very outset to have better treatment outcomes. In other
words, childhood cancer is curable when a child is physically strong to take treatment. But
survival becomes a challenge if children are undernourished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns affected attendance at the hospital; much of the
healthcare staff was pulled into COVID duty. There were strict physical distancing protocols
which can be complicated when you\u2019re treating and counselling sick children. The first and
second-order effects of the lockdown meant that parents started losing their jobs, and
sustaining treatment and travel for treatment under such conditions was challenging for them.
We started seeing a drop in OPD numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
posing substantial disruptions to cancer diagnosis and management, particularly in lowincome and middle-income countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
during cancer treatment. Patients and family members are now, not only dealing with the
emotional trauma of the cancer diagnosis but also with complying with Covid safety protocols
and the fear of the risks associated with Covid infection. Those risks include the
consequences of the infection on their child\u2019s already fragile state of health as well as
possible treatment delays or interruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
phone to ensure there was no break in treatment, and so now we have a Tele-counseling
pilot program based on our learnings from the lockdown. And also managed to scale the
ration program with the help of supporters where delivery was impacted. In terms of hot meal
program that had to be suspended temporarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
fighting COVID. But individuals did rise to the occasion — starting fundraisers and pledging
birthdays or donating whatever they could so cancer treatments wouldn\u2019t have to stop
because of COVID.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"