Burkitt's Lymphoma

What is it?

Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive childhood cancer that affects hundreds of children in Tanzania each year. BL can cause extremely painful and disfiguring swelling of the jaw, eyes, face and abdomen. BL attacks quickly and can be fatal within weeks if not treated promptly and appropriately.

Studies have found that BL is most common in areas with a high concentration of malaria, leading experts to believe that controlling and reducing the spread of malaria may also decrease the occurrence of BL.

Fortunately BL is treatable with chemotherapy, and the success rates are very high if the appropriate treatment regimen is followed.

Success Story- IMA at Work:

Ten-year-old Mwanawetu Saidi had a toothache and stomach cramps when her worried parents took her to a local clinic in the Tanzanian village of Tundu. Untrained clinic staff did not immediately recognize the symptoms of BL. A month after the onset of her pain, large tumors had grown in her mouth, jaw and cheek. "We had never seen such a condi­tion in our village and so we were scared and worried that we would lose her," said Mwanawe­tu's mother. Finally, she was referred to ORCI. After the 12-week cycle of chemo­therapy, her tumor had disappeared.

What We Do

Treatment, Training and Oversight

Since 2000, IMA has partnered with Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to fight this cancer through the Burkitt's Lymphoma Treatment Program. Funding is provided through United Service Foun­dation, Walk for Life (Cork, Ireland), Week of Compassion and many individual donors.

IMA's BL program provides access to chemotherapy as well as diagnosis and case management training to health care facilities all over the country. IMA trained more than 350 health care workers in 2009. The Burkitt's Lymphoma program is funded to continue through 2013.

Technical Publication

In 2009, IMA collaborated with ORCI to develop the Burkitt's Lymphoma National Treatment Guidelines, the only cancer diagnosis and treatment guildeline in Tanzania.

Where We Work

Tanzania