Pledge to make a difference, together.
The AEetc association (known as ETC Association) is a non-profit organisation of parents of children with cancer. Its main objective is to improve the quality of life of children with cancer and adolescents both during treatment and after treatment, when most side-effects start to appear. The life expectancy of a child diagnosed with cancer a few years ago was quite low. However, today many children survive cancer (around 80%) thanks, among other things, to early diagnosis, more precise surgery, more technologically advanced instruments and more effective chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. New treatments are more effective, but they are also more aggressive, and they leave a mark on children. As life expectancy of children diagnosed with cancer has increased, important long-term side effects have also been identified. They significantly limit children's quality of life: cognitive, physical, emotional and, consequently, social effects. The name ETC has a double meaning. On the one had, it is the acronym in Spanish for "cancer treatment side-effects" (Efectos del Tratamiento del Cancer). On the other hand, ETC means the fight against cancer does not finish when treatment comes to an end. Instead, there is a long "ETC" after treatment that negatively affect our children's quality of life. Side effects are not exclusive to childhood cancer, but children are the most vulnerable group, since they are in the process of intellectual, physical and emotional development. In the case of children diagnosed with brain tumors, mainly those that have been treated with radiotherapy, the consequences are lifelong and progressive.