Childhood Cancer Helpline set up

THE Childhood Cancer Helpline, set to be presented by the I Want to Share Foundation (IWTS) to Health secretary Dr. Teodoro “Ted” J. Herbosa, will help navigate families to essential medical support for pediatric cancer care, the IWTS founder said.

“With this, we hope it will address the gaps in the cancer burden. This childhood cancer helpline will support early cancer detection, reduce instances of misdiagnosis, and decrease treatment abandonment due to the economic difficulties faced by our patients,” Sheila Marie B. Romero, founder of IWTS, said during her opening statement at the IWTS and Manila Hearing Aid event.

Ms. Romero told BusinessWorld that she has heard stories of pediatric patients being misdiagnosed or sent to the wrong doctors. She also noted the struggles of patients from distant provinces who travel to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for much-needed checkups and treatments, only to be turned away due to long queues.

With the implementation of the Childhood Cancer Helpline, IWTS hopes to ease the burden on patients and families and reduce misdiagnoses by answering parents’ questions about where to seek medical diagnosis and treatment, as well as institutions to seek financial support.

Parents can also schedule appointments in PGH, avoiding the hassle caused by cutoff times.

In the secondary phase of its implementation, Ms. Romero noted that they will collaborate with city and barangay health centers, where patients can receive initial face-to-face screenings to determine if they may have cancer. From there, they will coordinate with PGH to ensure patients are referred to the appropriate doctors for further diagnosis and treatment.

Ms. Romero emphasized that this initiative underscores the United Nations’ goal of increasing the survival rate for children with cancer in the Philippines by 2030.

“We believe that through this, I Want to Share Foundation can help improve the five-year overall survival rate of children with cancer from 25% to 50%,” Mr. Romero said.

If they receive approval from the Department of Health (DOH), IWTS will pilot the Childhood Cancer Helpline in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, and Bacoor, Cavite, areas with a high number of pediatric cancer patients from PGH, Ms. Romero said.

“So, we lay the groundworks with PGH. We’ve submitted the letter to DOH. The technical working group of DOH are already aware. It’s just more of an approval from the DOH to roll out the helpline smoothly,” Mr. Romero said in mixed English and Filipino.

Meanwhile, IWTS also announced its other future endeavors for PGH, such as the construction of a Bone Marrow Cancer Wing in January 2025, aimed at providing leukemia patients with access to free or more affordable bone marrow transplants.

Also, the proceeds from the IWTS Gala happening in September 2025 will be allocated to the renovation of the PGH Halfway House, offering pediatric patients a temporary shelter if they do not reach the cutoff queue for their treatments and checkups. — Edg Adrian A. Eva