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18 cases of cancer among 17-and-under
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. reports 18 incidents of cancer among children 17 years old and younger.
CHCC reported a five-year average of 3.6 newly diagnosed cancer cases for children 17 years and younger in 2011.
In 2011, the incidences of cancer among 17 years old and below age range has climbed to 22.5 per 100,000. Among 14-and below age range, the cancer rate was at 20.7 per 100,000.
CHCC noted that between 2007 through 2011, a total of 18 cases of cancer were diagnosed between the ages of 0 through 17 in the CNMI, while leukemia accounted for 33.3 percent of cancers in the 0-17 age group.
The numbers were cited during the proclamation signing yesterday for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which was signed by acting governor Victor B. Hocog. The proclamation, which was signed in conjunction with the Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, states that there have been significant strides in cancer research due to the work of the National Cancer Institute, scientists and cancer researchers, and the “rest of the world.”
Angel Ray Guerrero, the first to donate a sample of his tumor to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, was diagnosed in 2007 at the age of 12 with medullablastoma, a type of brain tumor that is commonly found in males aged 8 to 18. This type of cancer, according to CHCC, more likely affects people within the Pacific region.
In his message to parents with children who have cancer, Guerrero said, “I commend you. [I suggest you] get as much help as you can because your family and children need that life. They never asked for it. I never asked for it,” he said with a pause. “We continue to fight, and each and every cancer patient has their own journey.”
Guerrero underwent almost two years of treatment in Honolulu, Hawaii.
