DPH Recognizes Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 25, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In observance of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) joins partners across the state in raising awareness about pediatric cancer and supporting families affected by it.

Childhood cancer impacts families in every county in South Carolina, with around 192 children diagnosed across the state each year. Childhood cancer remains one of the leading causes of disease-related death in children under the age of 15. Leukemia and lymphoma are the most commonly diagnosed cancers among children in South Carolina.

Ongoing advances in treatment and supportive care have improved survival rates, but the emotional and financial toll on families remains staggering.

“From 1996 to 2023, deaths from childhood cancer in the state fell by 22%. However, disparities in survival remain, with non-Hispanic black children having lower survival rates than non-Hispanic white children,” said Dr. Bezawit Kase, Epidemiologist with DPH’s SC Central Cancer Registry. “These trends show we have made a lot of progress in South Carolina, but there is still work to do to improve outcomes for all children.”

DPH works with health care leaders and the South Carolina Cancer Alliance to support affected families.  

DPH identifies and measures the impact of pediatric cancer across South Carolina through the SC Central Cancer Registry, a nationally recognized surveillance program that works with all South Carolina hospitals and oncology (cancer) specialists. DPH also works closely with the South Carolina Cancer Alliance and the South Carolina Childhood Cancer Taskforce to support statewide needs related to pediatric cancer, including those due to the lifelong impacts on pediatric cancer survivors.

“We have nearly 3,000 childhood cancer survivors in South Carolina,” said Dr. Anna Hoppmann, chair of the SC Childhood Cancer Taskforce and pediatric oncologist at Prisma Health. “As our survival rates continue to improve, we want to make sure we support children and families at all steps of their cancer journey, including diagnosis, during treatment, and in survivorship.”

For more information on childhood cancer in South Carolina, visit the South Carolina Childhood Cancer Report and DPH’s Tracking Cancer Dashboard.

###