More than 85 percent of childhood cancer occurs in developing countries, such as Tanzania. Lack of access to health care contributes to poor survival rates in these countries.
Burkitt’s Lymphoma is most common in children living in sub-Saharan Africa and is related to the Epstein-Barr virus. Symptoms usually include swelling and distortion of facial bones and tumors that can grow quickly, sometimes doubling their size in 18 hours.
Dr. Trish Scanlan, an Irish pediatric oncologist, runs the children’s cancer ward. When she arrived in Dar es Salaam in 2007, there was only a 5 percent survival rate for most pediatric cancer patients. Children with BL had a higher survival rate, but only if they were diagnosed early and treated promptly.