Friday, September 26, 2025

Warriors and Survivors - 232

Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 232

I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in the Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen. 

Abu Bakar’s Story: A Child Too Young to Understand

Two-year-old Abu Bakar from Lahore is at an age where most children are busy learning words, pointing at colors, and asking for their favorite toys. For him, life has taken an unexpected turn that neither he nor his family could ever have imagined. He has been diagnosed with beta thalassemia, a condition that is unfamiliar to his parents and heavy with challenges.

The diagnosis came suddenly. Abu Bakar had been falling ill repeatedly, and his parents noticed he often looked pale and tired. At first, they thought it was due to simple weakness or lack of proper nutrition. Like many parents in families without medical background, they assumed he just needed better food, vitamins, or rest. But when his condition worsened and he started appearing increasingly lethargic, his parents finally took him to a local clinic. Blood tests were ordered, and that was when the word thalassemia entered their lives for the very first time.

For Abu Bakar’s parents, the doctor’s explanation was overwhelming. They are not highly educated and had never even heard of the disorder before. The medical terms sounded foreign, and they struggled to understand why their child who looked like any other toddler was facing such a serious lifelong condition. The news struck like a shock, their little boy would need regular blood transfusions to survive.

At first, the family felt lost. They wondered what they had done wrong, and like many parents in similar situations, they questioned if they were somehow responsible for their child’s illness. In their community, awareness about thalassemia is limited. The word itself carries fear, uncertainty, and confusion. But slowly, after several visits to the hospital and many discussions with doctors, they began to understand that this was not their fault it is a genetic condition that requires lifelong management.

Accepting reality was not easy. The thought of their child spending so much time in hospitals instead of playing freely at home was painful. But as days turned into weeks, Abu Bakar’s parents realized that treatment was the only way forward. They committed themselves to making sure he would never miss a transfusion, and his mother in particular became his constant companion, never leaving his side during hospital visits.

For little Abu Bakar, life feels different in ways he cannot yet explain. At two years old, he does not know what thalassemia means. He does not understand why he has to be taken to the hospital so often, or why nurses come close with needles and tubes. What he does know is that he is not at home as much as other children, and that his mother never let’s go of his hand in those strange hospital rooms. To him, this closeness is a comfort, but it also makes him cling even more tightly to her when he sees white coats and hears unfamiliar medical sounds.

Physically, Abu Bakar’s condition shows. He often feels weak, cannot play for long stretches like other children, and sometimes struggles with restlessness. His little body carries the burden of a disease he cannot name, and it shows in his pale skin and frequent fatigue. Mentally, though, he is still a child. He smiles at his toys, responds to his parents’ affection, and feels joy in the smallest of things whether it is a balloon at the hospital or a gentle hug at home.

For his parents, watching him live with this condition is both heartbreaking and motivating. They have learned that thalassemia is not a temporary illness but a lifelong challenge. Regular transfusions can help, but they also come with severe complications such as iron overload, cardiovascular complications requiring further treatment . The family is still in the early stages of navigating these realities, and each hospital visit deepens their awareness of what lies ahead.

Abu Bakar’s story is not just his alone. In Pakistan, many children are diagnosed with beta thalassemia every year, often in families that have little knowledge of the condition until it strikes. The illness does not only affect the child but reshapes the entire family’s life emotionally, financially, and socially. The shock of diagnosis, the burden of treatment, and the uncertainty of the future are experiences shared by countless parents like Abu Bakar’s.

Raising awareness is vital. Thalassemia can be prevented through simple premarital screening yet lack of awareness means many couples never know their carrier status. Families like Abu Bakar’s bear the weight of this gap in knowledge. By sharing their story, there is hope that more people will learn about thalassemia, its complications, and the importance of prevention.

As for Abu Bakar, he continues to live his childhood in fragments of hospital visits and quiet moments at home. He does not yet carry the knowledge of his condition, but he carries the love and care of his parents, who are slowly learning to face this reality with acceptance. His story reminds us that behind every medical term, there is a child too young to understand and a family learning, step by step, how to live with it.

Prayers for Abu Bakar and all the sick children and their families who have to face this pain of cancer. May Allah make it easy for them. Aameen



Friday, September 19, 2025

Warriors and Survivors - 231

Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 231


I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in the Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen.



Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: origins, the gold ribbon, and the global state of play

Why a month and a symbol matter

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (observed in September in much of the world) is more than a public relations exercise, it is a coordinated platform to advance rapid diagnosis, secure resources for curative and supportive care, highlight survivorship and late effects, and push for systems level equity. The gold ribbon adopted internationally as the symbol for childhood cancer intentionally evokes value and rarity: “gold” to represent that children are precious and deserve prioritization in research, care and health policy. ACCO

How this movement rose to prominence

Public recognition and nationaldeclarations in the U.S. and coordinated global advocacy (professional societies, parent organizations and WHO partnerships) gradually consolidated September as the focal period for awareness and fundraising. In parallel, WHO and partner institutions created formal global initiatives to translate awareness into measurable gains in access and survival. World Health Organization





What causes childhood cancer? A practical clinical summary

• Etiology is heterogeneous and often idiosyncratic. Unlike many adult cancers where lifestyle exposures predominate, most pediatric cancers arise from developmental biology and genetics: somatic mutations during growth, inherited cancer-predisposition syndromes (e.g., RB1, TP53/Li-Fraumeni, etc.), chromosomal rearrangements, and less commonly specific environmental or infectious agents.

• Risk gradient and preventability: A minority of childhood cancers are plausibly preventable by environmental modification; most are not. That does not reduce the value of primary prevention where identifiable (e.g., reducing therapeutic radiation exposure where feasible), or of secondary strategies (early recognition and rapid referral).

• Clinical implication: maintain low threshold for evaluation of persistent unexplained signs (prolonged fever, pallor, weight loss, lymphadenopathy/masses, focal neuro signs) and prioritize timely diagnostic pathways to pediatric oncology.

Latest global numbers (key facts you need at a glance)

• Annual global burden: ~400,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year among children and adolescents (0–19 years). World Health Organization

• Survival disparity HIC vs LMIC: In high-income countries where comprehensive services are accessible, >80% of children with cancer can be cured; in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) cure rates remain well below 30%, largely driven by delays in diagnosis, lack of diagnostic/treatment infrastructure, abandonment of therapy, and treatable-mortality (infection, malnutrition). World Health Organization+1

• Global 5-year net survival (average): Pooled global estimates illustrate a stark gap, recent aggregated estimates place global 5-year net survival in the 30–40% range (estimates such as ~37.4% are cited in advocacy and analytic summaries), underscoring inequity and the opportunity for impact. Children's Cancer Cause

• Trajectory in survival: High-income settings show continued improvement five- and ten-year survival have risen substantially over recent decades (for many common childhood cancers, 5-year survival now exceeds 80–90%); population trends from 1970s to the 2020s show major gains driven by risk-adapted chemotherapy, refined radiotherapy, transplant, supportive care and targeted agents. However, gains are uneven by cancer type (e.g., certain high-grade brain tumors and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma still carry very poor prognosis). PMC

Where to focus clinical and public-health effort now

1. Systems for early detection and referral. In LMICs, downstaging (earlier stage at diagnosis) could deliver large survival gains. Strengthen primary care recognition, referral pathways, and pathology/imaging access. The Lancet

2. Access to standard therapies and supportive care. Many deaths are preventable (infection, hemorrhage, organ toxicity). Policies assuring essential cytotoxic and supportive medicines, blood products, and trained pediatric oncology nursing reduce mortality. World Health Organization

3. Reduce treatment toxicity and plan survivorship. In HICs the urgent agenda is reducing late effects organ toxicities, secondary malignancies, neurocognitive and psychosocial impacts while maintaining cure rates. Pharmacogenomics, dose optimization and less-toxic targeted approaches are central. PMC

4. Global partnerships and capacity building. The WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (goal: at least 60% global survival by 2030) is the operational framework for coordinated improvement; it prioritizes essential packages, workforce training, and data systems. Clinicians should engage with national cancer control plans and regional networks. World Health Organization

Final reflections

Awareness months do not substitute for systems change, but they catalyze resources and political will. As clinicians we must translate awareness into durable commitments: robust early diagnosis pathways, access to safe curative therapy, investment in survivorship, and international solidarity that closes the survival gap. Practically, that means advocating for reliable supply chains for pediatric oncology drugs and blood products, embedding pharmacogenomic approaches where evidence supports them, and supporting long-term follow-up structures that enable healthy survivorship.



Friday, September 12, 2025

Warriors and Survivors - 230

 Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 230

No photo description available.

I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in the Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen. 

A Small Child-Big Diagnosis: Hammad’s Story

Hammad is only one and a half years old. At this age, most parents are caught up in watching their child take unsteady steps, speak their first clear words, and begin to show tiny glimpses of their personality. But for Hammad’s parents, life has taken a very different turn. Instead of simply enjoying these milestones, they are weighed down by the words of a diagnosis they had never even heard before: beta thalassemia.

When the doctor explained it, they could barely follow. The name itself felt heavy and foreign. They had taken Hammad to the clinic after noticing that he seemed unusually pale, often tired, and not as playful as other children his age. They thought maybe he was low in vitamins, maybe a simple syrup or tonic would help. But after blood tests, they were told their son had a serious blood disorder, something that would not go away with a short treatment.

For a moment, both parents were speechless. They did not know what to ask, because they did not even understand what it meant.

Coming to Terms with the Unknown

For families who have never heard of thalassemia, the diagnosis is not just frightening, it is confusing. Hammad’s parents had questions piling up in their minds: Will he recover? Will he always be sick? What does this mean for his future? They did not have the words to ask, and even when the doctor explained, it was difficult to absorb.

Beta thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder where the body cannot make enough healthy red blood cells. Without treatment, it causes severe anemia. The only way to manage it is through regular blood transfusions and ongoing medical care. For a small child, that means hospital visits will become a part of life.

When Hammad’s parents understood this, a silence settled over their home. They looked at their little boy, still smiling at them, too young to know anything about illness. And they wondered how they would carry him through this unknown road.

The First Steps in Care

The days after the diagnosis felt unreal. Relatives and friends asked about Hammad’s health, and his parents found themselves hesitating. How do you explain something that you are still struggling to understand yourself?

They began reading, searching, and asking doctors for more information. They learned that children with beta thalassemia often need transfusions every few weeks. They learned about iron buildup in the body, and the medicines that help reduce it. They learned that while there is no easy cure, medical advances and proper care can give these children a chance at a better life.

But behind every fact they read, there was a quiet ache. No parent imagines their toddler spending childhood in and out of hospitals.

The Emotional Weight

For Hammad’s parents, the hardest part is not just the treatment it is the uncertainty. They wonder how they will explain this to him when he grows older. They think about the financial and emotional burden of constant medical care. They worry about whether they will be strong enough to manage it all. Whether Hammad will be strong enough to bear this all

At the same time, they feel the quiet isolation that often comes with rare diagnoses. Few people around them truly understand what they are facing. And yet, their love for Hammad keeps them moving, one day at a time.

Why Awareness Matters

Hammad’s story is not just about one child. Every year, many families in South Asia and around the world discover that their child has thalassemia. Often, like Hammad’s parents, they hear the name for the very first time only after diagnosis.

What makes this especially important is that thalassemia is preventable. Since it is a genetic condition, couples can undergo simple blood tests before marriage or pregnancy to know if they carry the trait. If both parents are carriers, there is a risk of having a child with thalassemia.

Awareness can change futures. If more families knew about screening, many could be spared the shock and pain of an unexpected diagnosis. Communities could talk more openly about genetic conditions instead of keeping silent out of fear or stigma.

Looking Ahead

For now, Hammad is too young to know the challenges ahead. He still laughs when his father tosses him in the air, still clings to his mother when he feels sleepy, still lives in the innocence of babyhood. His parents, though, are beginning a journey they never imagined.

They are learning to balance hospital visits with normal family life, to manage their fears while giving Hammad the love and comfort every child deserves. And perhaps most importantly, they are learning that they are not alone. Other families have walked this road, support groups exist, and medical care though demanding, is possible.

A Gentle Reminder

Hammad’s story is a reminder for all of us. Illness does not only affect bodies; it touches families, hopes, and futures. Beta thalassemia is not just a medical condition it is a lifelong reality that parents and children must navigate together.

By talking about it, by sharing stories like Hammad’s, we can create understanding. We can encourage more people to get tested, more communities to support affected families, and more compassion for the quiet struggles that often go unseen.

Hammad’s parents still do not have all the answers. They are still speechless at times, still afraid. But they hold on to one truth: their little boy deserves every chance at life. And for him, they will face whatever comes next.

Prayers for Hammad and all the sick children and their families who have to face this pain of cancer. May Allah make it easy for them. Aameen


Friday, September 5, 2025

Warriors and Survivors - 229

Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 229


I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have worked in the Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen.


Hassan’s Story

In a modest home tucked inside one of Lahore’s crowded neighborhoods, six-year-old Hassan once lived a life filled with ordinary joys. He loved to chase pigeons across the rooftop, play cricket with cousins in the narrow street, and fall asleep with a marble clenched tightly in his hand, as if it were treasure. His laughter often echoed through the courtyard, a sound his parents believed would never fade.

But life began to shift in small, troubling ways. Hassan grew tired more quickly, choosing to sit on the steps and watch his friends instead of joining their games. He began missing school, his appetite disappeared, and the sparkle in his eyes dulled. At first, his parents thought it was weakness, something a tonic or homemade remedies could fix. But hospital visits and endless tests finally revealed the truth: Hassan had cancer.

The news struck his parents like a blow they could not recover from. His father, a shopkeeper, spent that evening sitting in silence, unable to look at anyone. His mother cried quietly into her dupatta, careful not to let Hassan see her tears. She knew children sense more than they understand. How could she explain to her little boy that his childhood had been interrupted by an illness too heavy even for adults to bear?

From that moment, their lives were reshaped. Hospital corridors replaced playgrounds, and the sound of medical machines replaced the hum of everyday life. Hassan, once so full of restless energy, now spends hours lying in a hospital bed. His body has grown frail, but his spirit though fragile, still flickers. On better days, he asks for his toy car and pushes it gently along the blanket, a small reminder that beneath the illness, he is still a child.

His mother rarely leaves his side. She sleeps on a wooden bench beside his bed, her scarf folded into a thin pillow. Night after night, she watches his chest rise and fall, whispering quiet prayers into the silence. She remembers the days when he would climb onto her lap and beg her for stories. Now, she is the one telling him stories in the dim glow of hospital lights, trying to convince herself as much as him that everything will be all right.

Hassan’s father carries his burden differently. Each morning, he opens his shop, trying to earn just enough to pay for medicines and tests. In the evenings, he hurries to the hospital, exhaustion heavy on his face but determination in his eyes. Neighbors notice his struggle sometimes slipping him a small note of money, sometimes preparing meals for his family. These acts of kindness, however small, are lifelines that keep them afloat.

In Pakistan, families like Hassan’s face not just the illness but the crushing reality of cost, distance, and limited treatment options. Cancer care for children is not only a medical journey but a social and financial one. Parents often feel like they are carrying an impossible weight, yet they carry it still because the thought of giving up is more unbearable than the suffering itself.

And in the middle of it all is Hassan. His innocence makes the contrast sharper. A child of six should be learning new words at school, not new medical terms. He should be chasing kites on rooftops, not watching IV drips. Yet, despite everything, Hassan endures. Some days with tears, some days with laughter, always with a courage that humbles those around him.

His story is not only about illness. It is about the strength of a family who refuses to let go, about the resilience of a child who still finds reasons to smile, and about the quiet hope that grows even in the darkest hospital corridors. Hassan is more than a patient; he is a reminder that love, though tested by suffering, can still stand firm, carrying families through storms they never imagined facing.

Prayers for Hassan and all the sick children and their families who have to face this pain of cancer. May Allah make it easy for them. Aameen

Blog Post # 03 by Rukh Yusuf