When my son was diagnosed with cancer, it felt like our world was falling apart. Halfway through his treatment, we sat down with his doctor to discuss the next steps. The doctor confirmed the start date for his next round of chemotherapy but then added, "assuming we can find the drug." Hearing those words was terrifying, it felt like another burden added to an already overwhelming situation. Luckily, the drug was found in time, and my son’s treatment went ahead as planned. But this experience made me realize how many other families aren’t as fortunate.

Cancer is already incredibly hard for families, but it’s even worse when kids can’t get the medicine they need. Right now, many children in the United States and Europe are facing severe shortages of chemotherapy drugs for pediatric cancers. These shortages force doctors to use less effective alternatives or delay treatments, making the situation even tougher. If it’s this challenging in high-resource areas, imagine how bad it is in places with even less access to pediatric cancer drugs. The differences are shocking: while high-income countries have about 80% of children with cancer surviving, in some low- and middle-income countries, survival rates are below 30%. Globally, there are over 400,000 new cases of childhood cancer every year, and without better access to treatment, many of these children won't have a fair chance to survive.

Why Are There Drug Shortages?

There are several reasons why these drug shortages happen:

• Limited Manufacturers: Only a few companies make these injectable cancer drugs, which means there isn’t enough supply to meet the demand.
• Strict Quality Controls: These drugs require very high production standards, and even small issues can cause factories to stop production, leading to major shortages.
• Low Profit Margins: These drugs don’t generate much profit, so pharmaceutical companies aren’t motivated to produce them, especially for a smaller market like pediatric cancer.
• Regulatory Challenges: Some government policies, like price controls, make it less attractive for companies to invest in making new drugs, resulting in fewer manufacturers and a less stable supply.

How Does This Affect Children?

These drug shortages have real impacts on children and their families. Parents often have to search from hospital to hospital just to find the medicine their child needs. Sometimes, doctors are forced to change treatment plans, use less effective alternatives, or even delay care because the drugs aren’t available. This can be very dangerous and makes an already tough situation even harder for families trying to save their child’s life. As one doctor put it, "We should be fighting cancer, not fighting to get the drugs we need." The stress and risks caused by these shortages are enormous.

What Can We Do to Fix This?

To solve this problem, we need several important changes:

• Better Communication: Hospitals, drug manufacturers, and suppliers need to communicate better to predict and prevent shortages before they happen.
• Government Incentives: Financial incentives could encourage more companies to produce these important drugs, even if the profit margins are low.
• Stockpiling Critical Drugs: Creating stockpiles of essential cancer drugs could make sure there is always a backup supply in case of disruptions.
• Policy Reforms: Current policies need to be reviewed to make sure they support, rather than hinder, the production and availability of these life-saving drugs.

How You Can Help

One of the most effective ways to help is by supporting ongoing research to improve treatment options and access for children with cancer.  Setting up a small monthly donation to The Bardo Foundation can make a big difference. The Bardo Foundation focuses on funding childhood cancer research and expanding access to essential medications.  Even a modest monthly contribution can help ensure that researchers have the resources they need to find better treatments and ultimately save more lives.

Contact Your Representatives: Reach out to your elected officials and ask them to support laws that make sure children get the medicine they need. Policy changes are crucial for solving drug shortages and improving access to care.

Raise Awareness: Share this message with your friends, family, and community. The more people who know about this problem, the more pressure there will be to create change. Awareness leads to advocacy, and advocacy leads to action.

Children with cancer shouldn’t have to fight without the medicine they need. Let’s work together to make sure every child gets the treatment they deserve.