The number of new child cancer patients in Myanmar is estimated to range between 2,000-2,500 per year, only one-third of whom receive medical treatment, according to Yangon Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Tint Myo Hnin, Child Cancer Specialist from Yangon Children’s Hospital, said: “Due to the lack of exact data, the number of new child cancer patients in Myanmar is expected to reach between 2,000 and 2,500 per year, compared with the figures in the neighbouring countries. There are two major cancer treatment centers in Yangon and Mandalay. As a matter of fact, the two cancer centers receive around 600 child patients. All child cancer patients are not in a position to receive medical treatment.”

In 2003, Yangon Children’s Hospital opened Blood and Cancer Ward. The number of child cancer patients has increased from around 350 in 2017 to over 1,000.

Leukemia and brain and neurological cancers are common in children. The hospital provides medical treatments to the child cancer patients using the international-recognized therapies. Eighty per cent of child cancer patients with stages-1 and 2 can recover.

Currently, around 75 child cancer patients receive treatments at the in-patient ward in Yangon Children’s Hospital daily.