The Children

The recovery rate for children with cancer in Romania is very low. Here, children do not have the same chances for cure as children in better equipped countries. Children in Mongolia with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia rarely survive more than one year. There is only one hospital situated in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, which has any facility at all for treating these children. Most are diagnosed far too late and many cannot afford to travel the long distances to the city to receive treatment even after diagnosis.

Children with cancer in Romania and Mongolia often have to grow up really fast. Many children have to stay alone in hospital because their parents must remain at home in the countryside to look after their other children and livelihood. Many children also have to travel alone on public transport for long distances to and from hospital, even when they are very ill.