It is not always that we take pre-cious time from our hecticlifestyle to bring the smiles on

a child's face. Recently at an eventin a major hotel in the city, childrenwith cancer were treated to somefun and entertainment, bringing thesmiles on their face. For a while,these children left their hauntingdisease behind and participated inthe revelry arranged just for themwith their childlike enthusiasm.

Manipal Hospitals, The PriyankaFoundation and its Child Life Ser-vice, and Lara Dutta, former MissUniverse and popular film star, paidan ode to children to whom happi-ness is probably the best gift.

At the event, a special forum 'ICan Sir' was launched to help af-fected families of children suffer-ing from cancer come together toshare experiences, sort out issuesand bond together.

RROOLLEE OOFF TTHHEE CCHHIILLDD LLIIFFEESSEERRVVIICCEE UUNNIITT

Manipal Hospitals and The Priyan-ka Foundation has integrated ChildLife Service to dilute the trauma ofa child between 2 and 10 years un-dergoing the treatment of cancer.The Child Life Service includes serv-ices in the form of a Child Life Prac-titioner who takes them through

these painful treatment proceduresby being a playmate throughouttheir treatmentcycle. It also in-cludes bedsideplay time, thera-peutic sessions

during the procedure and after, griefcounseling, preparing family and

sibling supportalong with sketch-ing of the familyportrait.

Dr. Sudarshan

Ballal - Medical Director & Chair-man - Medical Advisory Board, Ma-nipal Health Enterprises, says, "Itis our responsibility to ensure thatwe look into all the aspects of achild suffering from cancer. Chil-dren are closer to God and we mustinvest our truest and best effortsto treat them and keep the spiritof hope alive."

Former Miss Universe and ac-tress Lara Dutta was filled withemotion and said, "I am proud tobe associated with a noble causedriven by Manipal Hospitals andThe Priyanka Foundation. It is thespirit of life that needs to be cher-ished and be proud of, as exhibitedby these children. I am touched andoverwhelmed by these children whodevelop a fighting spirit at such ayoung age."

The beauty queen spent time in-teracting and playing with around30 children gathered for the event,spreading smiles and instilling hap-piness. Several fun games were or-ganized on various carnival themesto gift them a day where elaboratepainful treatments didn't stop themfrom smiling in happiness.

SPREADING SMILES AMONGCHILDREN WITH CANCER

ADVTManipal Hospitals andThe Priyanka Foundation'sintegrated Child LifeService works at cheeringup children with cancerthrough play, and reducingtheir trauma

‘‘GGEENNTTLLEE CCAARREE HHEELLPPEEDD44 YYEEAARR OOLLDD AANNIITTAA CCOOPPEE

WWIITTHH CCAANNCCEERR TTRREEAATTMMEENNTT’’

Four year old Anita Warrier (name changed to pro-tect identity) plays with her schoolmates but her

teacher does not allow her to exert too much. Thechild was diagnosed with leukemia in November lastyear and was in and out of the hospital for chemother-apy to treat the cancer afflicting the blood cells.

"It was a shock and was not easy for us to acceptthat our little girl had cancer. We were under a lot ofstress especially when she was undergoing chemother-apy and knowing what she was going through at sucha young age," Anita's father reveals with emotion.

When doctors at Manipal Hospital explained thatchildhood cancer had a higher cure rate due to theadvances in treatment and medications, and it canbe 90 percent cured, the parents were reassured oftheir child's speedy recovery.

During Anita's stay at the hospital, Charlotte RoslineSoans, the Child Life Specialist, from Priyanka Foun-dation, and Diya Ballal, a young volunteer, would vis-it each ward the children were kept secluded in toprevent infection.

"Through playing with toys and story-telling ses-sions, they gently told Anita about other children hav-ing the illness just like she did," Warrier says. "Theseactivities reduced the stress in the children and theparents, and helped in the recovery process. We werealso mentally prepared to face the challenges of thecondition. Since the treatment for 6-7 months in-volved three phases in the entire period, we had tofrequently bring Anita to the hospital and stay therefor days for the chemotherapy. Sometimes when shewas adamant about taking her medicines, we wouldcall for Charlotte and Dia and they would gently sootheher and deftly handle the situation," he says withpraise for the young girls who gave them psycholog-ical support and encouragement

Anita is back at school and her par-ents, naturally, dote on her. Charlotteand Diya continue their work in thecancer ward for children, caring forthese delicate ones with a gentle touch.

WHY CHILDREN NEEDCHILD LIFE SERVICES

When a child is diagnosedwith cancer, the whole familyis affected. But the child maybe too young to understand themedical condition and the kindof treatment that will be ad-ministered in phases. Most ofthe months when the child isconfined indoors within a ster-ile environment for treatment,it is the most trying time forthe child as well as the parents.

Child life specialists like Char-lotte Roseline are trained in ChildLife Services and help parentsof these children in handling thestress and coping with the con-dition of their child. The littlepatients are engaged in creativeplay where they are encouragedto discuss the treatments andprocedures they receive, andexpress their feelings.

"Since 2007 Manipal Hospi-tals is associated with The

Priyanka Foundation to help in-tegrate Child Life Services. ChildLife Practitioners are trainedprofessional with expertise inhelping children and their fam-ily coping with the life's mostchallenging ordeals," informCharlotte, and Diya Ballal, a vol-unteer at the department. "Peo-ple often ask us if it's tough be-ing in this profession and hav-ing to deal with so many un-well children on a daily basis.However, it is not our sympa-thy that they need; it is the un-derstanding to make them feelat ease. This is exactly whatchild life therapy helps us offerthem this understandingthrough a variety of methods.Most children are terrified ofhospitals and it's our job totransform this fear of needlesand white linen into an excit-ing environment where theycan be still be children and haveall the fun while their treat-ment regiment is on," they say.

■ Launching the ‘I CAN SIR’ Child Life Service at the Children’sDay event are (L to R) Diya, Dr Poonam Patil, Dr H SudarshanBallal, Lara Dutta, Pramod, Charlotte

PLAY SESSIONS HELP CHILDREN WITH CANCER BY:■ Reducing anxiety and stress■ Providing a space to express their feelings■ Reducing pain and discomfort■ Improving mood■ Providing positive environmental stimulation

and comfort

Child Life Services byManipal Hospitals &

The Priyanka Foundationcan be reached on+91 9686413670

◗ Kids in a light mood

◗ Child Life Specialist CharlotteRosline (R) and Child LifeService volunteer Diya Ballal(Centre) welcome Lara Duttato the Children’s Daycelebrations

◗ Lara distributes plants to kidssymbolising hope

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◗ A child is engrossed in drawing

DDrr PPoooonnaamm PPaattiill,, medical oncologist, Manipal Hospitals, explains to LLeeeennaa MMuuddbbiiddrrii howchildhood cancer can be treatedeffectively and parents can helpcope with their child's condition

◗ HHooww sshhoouulldd ppaarreennttss ooff cchhiillddrreenn wwiitthhccaanncceerr bbee eedduuccaatteedd aabboouutt tthhee ttrreeaattmmeennttffoorr ccaanncceerr??

Cancer is relatively rare in children,however considerable improvements intreatments mean that for every ten chil-dren diagnosed with cancer, almosteight (78%) will survive for five years ormore, compared with just three in ten(28%) in the late 1960s.

This improvement in survival rates isdue to significant advances in treat-ment, resulting in cure or long-term re-mission for a substantial proportion ofchildren with cancer. Childhood cancertreatment is a success story of modernmedicine in which effective treatments

have been identified for previously pre-sumably untreatable diseases.

Any time a child is diagnosed withcancer, it affects every family memberand nearly every aspect of the family'slife. Parents of children diagnosed withcancer would definitely be anxious con-sidering the nature of illness. However,they should go ahead for the treatmentwith a positive attitude. Their attitudealso affects the child who is very sensi-tive to the emotions of parents.

◗ WWhhaatt aarree tthhee pprreeccaauuttiioonnss ppaarreennttsssshhoouulldd ttaakkee dduurriinngg tthhee ttrreeaattmmeennttpprroocceessss??

During the treatment, parents shouldcarefully follow the doctor's prescriptionand bring the child to the hospital onschedule. It may involve the parentsseeking leave from their office work todo so. The chemotherapy for children re-duces their immunity, making them sus-ceptible to various infections. As chil-dren may not understand the impor-tance of hygiene, it is for the caretakers

to see that they wash hands regularly,provide clean, cooked food and sterilewater to the children undergoingchemotherapy. Also, as children will notbe able to express their problems, it isfor the parents or caretakers to be sen-sitive and alert to any changes that theysee in the child's routine activity.

◗ HHooww ddoo eevveennttss lliikkee tthhee oonnee hheelldd bbyyMMaanniippaall HHoossppiittaall hheellpp aalllleevviiaattee tthhee mmeenn--ttaall ppaaiinn ooff ppaarreennttss aanndd ggiivvee tthheemm hhooppee??

Yes, it was a time, where all barriersand inhibition of being a patient or pa-tient's parents were forgotten for sometime. The children were doing what theywere supposed to be doing at their age -have a carefree life, fun time, playgames, do their favourite past time -seeing magic and doing drawing andpainting. These events are definitelystress busters for parents as well aschildren. The informal contact with doc-tors and other medical and paramedicalpersonnel brings them all closer, whichwould lead to better interaction, reduce

drop- out rates, alleviate their tension tosome extent ultimately improving thechild's and parents' social well beingapart from better care and cure. Seeingother children who have completedtherapy and are cured and leading a nor-mal life gives them the strength andhope that one day, their child will alsojoin the group.

◗ WWhhaatt ccaauusseess ccaanncceerr iinn cchhiillddrreenn??Cancers that develop in children are

often different from the types that de-velop in adults. Childhood cancers areoften the result of DNA changes in cellsthat take place very early in life, some-times even before birth. Unlike manycancers in adults, childhood cancers arenot strongly linked to lifestyle or envi-ronmental risk factors. Though there aresome exceptions, but childhood cancerstend to respond to treatments muchbetter and have high cure rates thantheir adult counterparts. Children's bod-ies also tend to handle chemotherapybetter than adults' bodies do. But, can-

cer treatments such as chemotherapyand radiation therapy can cause lateside effects, and children who have hadcancer will need careful follow-up forthe rest of their lives to look for them.

‘CHILDHOOD CANCERS RESPOND BETTER TO TREATMENT AND HAVE HIGH CURE RATES’

CCOONNSSUULLTTAANNTTSS|| DDRR.. AASSHHIISSHH DDIIXXIITTConsultant, HOD Oncology & Hematology

|| DDRR.. AAMMIITT RRAAUUTTHHAANNConsultant, Medical Oncology

|| DDRR.. PPOOOONNAAMM PPAATTIILLConsultant, Medical Oncology

|| DDRR.. SSAANNJJIIVV SSHHAARRMMAAHOD & Consultant, Radiation Oncology

|| DDRR.. VVIISSHHWWAANNAATTHHAANN NNConsultant, Radiation Oncology

|| DDRR.. VVAADDHHIIRRAAJJAA BB.. MM..Consultant, Radiation Oncology

|| DDRR.. SSOOMMAASSHHEEKKHHAARR SS.. PP..HOD & Consultant, Surgical Oncology

|| DDRR.. SSHHAABBBBEERR ZZAAVVEERRIIConsultant, Surgical OncologyFor more details contact: Manipal Hospital, 98, HAL Airport Road, Bangalore - 17 Phone: 080-25024444/25023407, http://www.manipalhospitals.com

◗ Spreading the cheer