1. Childhood cancer is the sixth cause of global cancer burden. 

2. 90% of childhood cancer cases occur in low- middle-income countries, where mortality can be 4-5 times higher compared to high income settings.

3. In Cameroon, childhood cancers account for 1 to 2% of all cancers. Although 90% of childhood cancers are curable, over 80% of patients seek care at an advanced stage of the disease, leading to high mortality rates of up to 40%.

4. Pediatric chemotherapy pretreatment investigations are expensive for the average Cameroonian family. As a result, about 30% of children with cancer abandon treatment.

5. Other reasons for treatment abandonment are poor awareness, long distances to treatment centers, absence of health insurance coverage, the high toxicity of treatment, long chemotherapy sessions, absence of social support, and fear of the unknown.

6. Treatment abandonment is associated with failure and poor survival rate.

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Read more about the challenges of childhood cancer in Cameroon. Fortune Journal of Health Sciences