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Childhood cancer’s enemy in the Philippines is called Doc Mae
Every time “Doc” Mae tells parents their child has cancer, she makes a promise – one she has never broken. She promises the family she and her team at the Southern Philippines Medical Centre in Davao City will do their best. Of course, most doctors would offer those words. But for Philippine children with cancer, Doc Mae is perhaps their greatest hope. Too few treatment centers exist on the island of Mindanao. Doc Mae has made it her life’s work to change that.
In developed countries, a child diagnosed with cancer has an 80% chance of surviving. Survival rates in developing countries can be as low as 10%. Dr. Mae Dolendo, a pediatric oncologist in the Philippines, is committed to evening these odds for the children she treats, with support from World Child Cancer and Sandoz.
Seeking specialist medicine in the Philippines usually means a long journey. The country has over 7,100 islands, with a combined population of more than 100 million1. For the entire country, there are only about 40 pediatric oncologists, and many of them are in or near the capital city2. On the island of Mindanao, there are only three pediatric oncologists. This is where World Child Cancer is working to improve care of children with cancer. Doc Mae has set up cancer-care clinics across an entire island, bringing therapy closer to patients in need and improving diagnosis and survival rates for a nation’s children.
- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html
- http://www.cancercontrol.info/cc2015/the-global-improvement-of-childhood-cancer-care-in-the-philippines/
