People Fixing the World - Saving kids with cancer

If your child develops cancer and you live in a wealthy country there’s a really good chance they will survive - more than 80%. If you live elsewhere, the chances are much lower - less than 30%.

Over a decade ago, Dr Mae Dolendo set up a centre in the Philippines to treat children with cancer. Since then she’s saved the lives of hundreds of children who’ve received treatment for free. Now others are replicating her trailblazing hospital.

We head to the Philippines to meet Dr Dolendo and see how she’s linking up with St Jude’s paediatric cancer team in the US — one of the best of its kind in the world. Doctors from the team provide expertise remotely, enabling Dr Dolendo to save lives for a fraction of what it would normally cost.

Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter: Micaela Papa
Producer: Jo Mathys
Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein
Sound mix: Hal Haines
Executive producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Penny Murphy

Image: Dr Mae Dolendo

Published on Tuesday, 19th July 2022.

Available Podcasts from People Fixing the World

Subscribe to People Fixing the World

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the People Fixing the World webpage.