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TRANSCRIPT
As tens of thousands of children prepare to start their first day back to school - Chloe Rodger won't be one of them.
Instead of being with friends, she'll spend the day in a hospital gown - not a uniform - and in bed, not in the classroom.
Chloe's mother, Melissa, says it's a tough decision she has made to protect her immune system.
"The treatment that she receives today will give her a boost of immunity that will help protect her; as all the kids come back with all their germs and have a bit of a party. So it's about a balance of trying to look after and do what's best and look after her."
Treatment of blood cancers, including leukemia, can endure for years.
Chloe's nurse, Maddy Gilsenan, is a paediatric bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy nurse practitioner at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne.
At the hospital's cancer centre, she treats patients from newborns to teenagers and sees firsthand the impact of lengthy hospital stays.
"Particularly for our older children, our young adults and adolescents, when they're not out doing all the things that their peers are doing. They're missing out on school which is such a precious time for a child. So, a think it can be a really lonely experience for patients. And we do the best we can to look after them in our department, but it can be a really lonely time for a patient and their whole family."
The financial burden of childhood blood cancers on families is also intense and many families rely on support services.
The Rodger family had to grieve the life they lost after Chloe's diagnosis.
"My husband sold his business. I had to quit work. There was a huge toll on us. Talking about it and spreading awareness for other families going through this. We need support these families. It is a really critical and tough time, and I know a lot of families don't always make it after an illness like this. And we need more support in terms of kids for their education and families for their mental health."
Many children frequently miss between 40 and 60 per cent of school in their first year of treatment, with some absent for six to 18 months or more.
Since she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 9 in 2022, Chloe has missed a total of around two years away from school - and at least 10 months of that time in hospital.
In that time, Melissa found a charity that offered remote tutoring to children in Chloe's situation.
"I think it would be great if all kids could get that extra support in terms of tutoring. There are school services offered in the hospital, which Chloe took up. It was more just a bit of fun - and getting this tutoring that she did made a huge impact."
It is the most common and life-threatening childhood cancer in Australia and based on the data, this year, 350 Australian children are expected to be newly diagnosed with blood cancer.
Over the past 20 years, blood cancer incidence has increased by almost 30 per cent among children aged 5 to 14 years.
The Leukaemia Foundation says if that rate of diagnosis continues, more than 400 children will be diagnosed annually by the next decade.
Bill Stavreski is the head of research at the foundation.
He says more funding into blood cancers is needed, to support patients and their families - and to build on major advancements in treatments.
"The key focus at the moment, now is early detection and prevention. If we can identify and diagnose children and people with blood cancer earlier and then hopefully into the future be able to prevent and understand why children are being diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. And there are significant inroads being made, but we still don't have those key answers and the need for research is quite significant."
The Leukaemia Foundation is urging people to shave, cut, or colour their hair for the World’s Greatest Shave.
The campaign is raising money for research and support services.
Mr Stavreski says a place to stay is one of the most important lifelines.
"Each year, the Leukemia Foundation provides 44,000 nights of accommodation for families and many of those patients are children who have to relocate. Some stay in our accommodation centres for up to six months. There is also the transport assistance, financial and importantly there is the emotional support from trained professionals."
There are other ways to help patients impacted by blood cancers.
Many of the Australian children who will be diagnosed with a type of blood cancer this year will need stem cell therapy.
There aren't enough donors on shore, so 70 per cent of them will have to find overseas donors.
You can join the stem cell registry and become a potential donor when you next give blood.
Donating whole blood and plasma is another important service eligible Australians can provide, to help blood cancer patients.
Ms Gilsenan says blood product donations are saving children's lives every day.
"We rely heavily on blood donations from the community. And we have a lot of children that will be requiring transfusion support potentially once a week or even more for up to two years. So, we use a big proportion of the blood supply that is kindly donated."
You can register for this year's World's Greatest Shave at worldsgreatestshave.com or call 1800 500 088.
