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Project Description

I am a pediatrician working in the only children’s hospital of our country Nepal. I have sixteen years of experience in the different hospitals of Nepal. I am at present also treating children with different childhood cancers, like leukemias, lymphomas, Wilm’s tumor, retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, terratoma, hepatoblastoma and so on. As the childhood mortality in the developing countries like Nepal due to infections and malnutrition decline with the passing years, the proportion of deaths due to non-communicable diseases like childhood cancers will continue to increase. In the more developed countries the incidence of the newly diagnosed cases of childhood cancers every year comes to about 120/million. In the developing countries this figure would be several times more. With this data in mind Nepal should have at least 2500 new cases of childhood cancers diagnosed each year. There are no adequately trained pediatric oncologists in Nepal. Children with childhood cancers have poor access to health facilities not only due to their poverty and ignorance but also due to a lack of specialists in the field. Most of these children cannot afford to go abroad for management of their oncological problem. Hence, a large majority of these children is compelled to live with its problem until eventual death.

Kanti Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in Nepal catering to children under 14 years of age (comprising approximately 44% of the Nepalese population) throughout the country. At present the hospital is in the process of developing different sub-specialties in pediatrics. Unfortunately, it does not have adequately trained manpower to run them. Pediatric oncology is one such specialty.

Taking into account this acute problem that faces our country, Kanti Children’s Hospital has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Ministry of Health to solve this problem and had requested one of the visiting groups Medicines for Nepal (GB) to help develop manpower in pediatric oncology. With much efforts, the group finally found a position for a three year fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles under the expert guidance of Dr. Stuart Siegel, the director of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases there. The Ministry of Health decided to send me for the three year fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and gave me a letter accordingly. However, although a fellowship is available to me at no cost, funding of travel, accommodation, food and other living expenses needs to be organized through other sources. According to Dr. Siegel the cost of accommodation and the other living expenses in Los Angeles would come to about $3,000 per month. In spite of much efforts neither I nor the other organizations I contacted have been able to secure funding for the accommodation and living expenses in Los Angeles, although the fellowship would be provided at no cost. I am confident that after completing my three year fellowship in pediatric oncology from the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles under the expert guidance of a renowned pediatric oncologist like Dr. Stuart Siegel I will be able to develop pediatric oncology services in Nepal in a comprehensive way to save many of the increasing number of children with childhood cancers here and bring happiness to the families with childhood cancers as well as develop collaborations with different centers throughout the world.

I have, therefore, written this application to your prestigious organization for financial sponsorship of my travel, accommodation and living expenses in Los Angeles during my fellowship period. I am confident that my fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology will provide me the opportunity to contribute myself towards combating childhood cancers and reducing the burden of these diseases on our society.
 

The Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disease, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, University of Southern California, USA

Prof. Stuart E. Siegel, MD
Director, Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases
Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles
SSiegelchla.usc.edu
 

Professor and Vice Chair
Department of Pediatrics
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California