Tumors, 80% of sick children recover, a 'passport' to not forget

A 'Passport of the cured' to be given to all children who overcome cancer - 8 out of 10 who get sick - to help them not to forget, to remember forever their clinical history, the experience they lived and how they overcame it thanks to medical progress. This is the project of the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, supported by a collaboration between Peter Pan Odv, a Capitoline association that has been alongside children and adolescents with cancer for over 30 years, and Fondazione Lottomatica, an expression of the social commitment of the Lottomatica group, which promotes concrete projects to address the challenges of society, ranging from health to social inclusion, from education to legality.

In Italy - a note from the IRCCS of the Holy See recalls - almost 50 thousand people have had a tumor during childhood or adolescence and have overcome it. Today they are between the ages of 6 and 55 and 50% are over 25. To them are added every year about 1,200 new recoveries, that is 80% of the approximately 1,500 new cases of pediatric cancer diagnosed annually in our country. For an adult who has had a tumor as a child, it is often difficult to reconstruct their medical history, to know exactly what therapies, tests and interventions they have undergone at an age when parents and guardians are the ones who deal with medical choices. Especially when these figures are missing. Thinking of them, thanks to the support of Fondazione Lottomatica, Peter Pan Odv renews its support for the Bambino Gesù hospital's 'Passport of the cured' project. A digital or paper document, designed for children and adolescents who have completed their oncology treatment and which contains the clinical history of the little patient, who can use it as a historical memory for life. In fact, the passport reports, in detail, all the treatments received, drugs, therapies and surgical interventions, as well as any complications encountered during the treatment. The patients' future doctors will thus have a tool to monitor and prevent possible long-term effects of the treatments, and have indications for a customized follow-up.

The collaboration between Peter Pan and Fondazione Lottomatica also includes support for the rehabilitation programs offered by Bambino Gesù to young oncology patients. Rehabilitation - the pediatric hospital emphasizes - is an essential step towards recovering functions compromised by the disease, therapies and prolonged hospitalizations, and it is essential to start it as soon as possible. Thanks to this project, it is possible to offer young patients targeted interventions of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and motor, language and swallowing rehabilitation directly in the hospital.

"We are very happy to inaugurate this collaboration with Fondazione Lottomatica - says Roberto Mainiero, president of Peter Pan Odv - which has immediately shown great closeness to our mission and special attention to the difficulties of children affected by a pediatric cancer diagnosis and their families. Thanks to their contribution, we can renew our support for the projects of the 'Passport of the cured' and the rehabilitation of the Bambino Gesù hospital: two projects that we have supported for a long time and that are essential to improving the quality of life of children and adolescents with cancer. In our homes we welcome children and their families who come from outside to be treated in Roman hospitals and we are by their side during the most difficult period, that of the disease. But recovery is also a long journey, which requires many trials for the little ones. With these projects we can be by their side even in this phase and provide essential help for the rest of their lives".

"Supporting those who face and overcome an oncological disease since childhood means making a concrete contribution to building a more just and inclusive future. With this initiative, Fondazione Lottomatica wants to stand alongside Peter Pan Odv and the Bambino Gesù hospital to guarantee recovered children essential tools for the continuity of treatment and for their full autonomy, even as adults - says the president of the Foundation, Riccardo Capecchi - It is a project that reminds us how clinical memory is an integral part of health, and how every recovery story deserves to be accompanied and protected".

"We are very grateful - comments Tiziano Onesti, president of the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital - for the support offered by the Peter Pan association and the Lottomatica Foundation to the 'Passport of the cured and of rehabilitation' projects, aimed at children affected by cancer. The collaboration between these organizations and our hospital represents a virtuous example of a path of solidarity, which strengthens the effectiveness of the actions undertaken and optimizes the results for the benefit of the most fragile people. Through tools such as the passport, which allows us to monitor and prevent the long-term effects of treatment, and through targeted physiotherapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation interventions, we can continue to support our children even after the conclusion of treatment, offering constant support to their families. We trust that we can continue this collaboration in the future, expanding the projects in favor of young patients and families to contribute to their well-being and quality of life".