For children, beating cancer can be just the start of a battle for acceptance and a normal life
Brain cancer survivor Nam Nam Cheung, 12, struggled for acceptance at school in Hong Kong and suffered discrimination; charities are working to make such children’s lives easier
Beating childhood brain cancer is a triumph for any young patient, but the impact of their disease does not end there. Survivors face unique challenges when trying to live normal lives again.
The discrimination that young cancer survivors face from their peers is a major problem, with sensitivity at times missing when needed most. This leads to serious social and psychological challenges for the child.
Nam Nam Cheung is a brain cancer survivor who has faced that struggle. Cheung was just two when diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Symptoms can include vomiting, headaches, poor balance, motor skill problems such as difficulties in coordination.
Following initial chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Nam Nam required immediate surgery because the tumour was in her brainstem, which governs vital functions such as breathing and blood circulation, according to Dr Alex Leung Wing-kwan, a specialist in paediatrics at EJ Medical Specialist Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. If the brainstem stops functioning normally, or if the tumour causes a build-up of pressure within the skull, the patient can die.
After undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, patients sometimes have hearing impairment, and Nam Nam now has a hearing capacity of around 50 per cent to 60 per cent.