Life-Saving Treatment for Kids in Ukraine

Dear friends,

thank you for supporting kids with cancer in Ukraine!

For us in Ukraine, now is a challenging time of fear and uncertainty. We know from experience that the threat of Russian aggression is real, but we don't know if and when it can happen. The atmosphere is tense, and people cannot feel safe. The kids we help feel this tension from their parents and start playing war games with toy weapons they find in the hospital's playroom and the family house run by us. Just look at the picture below we made one of these days. 

Our kids' families will also be affected by possible war. Little Marichka, you see in the picture, is on treatment in Kyiv for nephroblastoma, a kidney tumor, with her mom. Her dad is a combat veteran of the Russia-Ukraine war in Donbas. Now he stays in their home town supporting the family and taking care of Marichka's elder sister, who has to go to school. He visits Marichka in Kyiv quite often and helps his wife in every possible way. However, he will be deployed to defend Ukraine in case of escalation. And Marichka, who still has to undergo more than 20 chemo cycles, will have to fight for her life without him.

In 2021, thanks to your generous contributions, 469 children like Marichka received the help they needed: medicines, medical supplies for chemo and surgeries, endoprostheses, physical rehabilitation, and psychological support. We don't know what happens later in 2022, but we know that Ukrainian kids with cancer and their families need as many people as possible to be there for them this difficult year.

Dear friends,

thank you for supporting kids with cancer in Ukraine!

Every year, in September, we celebrate our first graders. All the kids you see in the picture have started school this year. All of them are cancer survivors whom we helped when they were on treatment.

We watched Myron, Emilia, Daniela, Oleksandra, Vania, and many other kids grow at the Cancer Institute Pediatric Department andthe Family House Dacha. Now we are happy to see their pictures from school and get news about their achievements.

Myron was diagnosed with kidney cancer when he was just four months old. Treatment was long and complicated, with more than ten chemo cycles and surgery. As Myron’s mom says, the time of the disease was hard, but, with so many good people around, they managed to overcome it.

Emilia underwent complex pancreatic surgery at the Cancer Institute four years ago. It was one of those rare cases when the doctors suspected a malignant tumor, but, fortunately, it turned out to be benign. When her family received the test results, it was the happiest moment in their life.

Daniela received cancer diagnosis when she lived inthe Luhansk Oblast, the occupied territory, where there was no treatment available. She came to Kyiv and, between hospitalizations, stayed with her family at our Dacha house. When Daniela went into remission, her mom Olga was diagnosed with cancer too. Now both of them are survivors.

Oleksandra was on treatment at the Cancer Institute three years ago. At that time, our psychologists and volunteers, with whom the girl loved to spend time, were her consolation as she suffered being so far away from home, from her relatives and friends. Oleksandra’s mom says that the psychological support was a lifeline that helped their family to live through the disease.

Vania had a specifically located tumor, so it was impossible to remove it without the MIBG scan that was not available in Ukraine. We organized the exam for him in Italy. In 2021, Vania had to go for a follow-up checkup, and we managed to arrange a visit during the pandemic with the authorization of the Italian Ministry of Health. The scan confirmed that everything was fine. 

Your support makes it possible for these kids and many others to enjoy such important life event as starting school.

Thank you for helping kids in Ukraine survive cancer!