These are some of the patients who need help under Treatment Abroad Program:
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Alina Baurciulu is 10 years old. She was born in Moldova but grew up in Odessa, the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea.
Alina had an active lifestyle almost from birth. She shared her passion between swimming, gymnastics and dancing. In spring 2011, she won the first place in her city’s dancing competition and was supposed to attend a sport camp in the summer. Unfortunately, sudden news had shuttered Alina’s and her parents’ lives. Alina was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, the type of cancer located in head and neck. Unfortunately, doctors in Ukraine were unable to establish the right diagnosis and were unsure on further treatment. The family flew quickly to Israel to save their only and much loved daughter. Alina is scheduled for an ongoing therapy at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv for at least till May 2012. The therapy will require many different approaches such as surgery, radiation, and several regimens of chemotherapy. The cost of treatment could amount to $95,000 – $110,000.
Please support Alina in her fight with cancer!
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In fall of 2007, Vlad Yukhimenko was diagnosed with childhood cancer, neuroblastoma, and administered five cycles of chemotherapy at a hospital in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. In spring of 2008, after he finished chemotherapy and underwent two surgeries, Vlad’s family moved to St. Petersburg. There he was evaluated again and his diagnosis was changed to a paraganglioma, a rare slow-growing malignancy that does not respond to chemotherapy. In St. Petersburg Vlad had CT of chest for the first time, and it showed multiple metastases. Afterwards, Vlad had one more surgery during which a part of his right lung was removed. No further treatment was offered, since his doctors have had no experience treating patients with this diagnosis. In 2009 Vlad traveled to Germany for evaluation, but German doctors also did not recommend treatment due to Vlad’s good general condition and slow growth of metastases. In summer of 2011, we helped Vlad find a specialist, Dr. Grossman in Oxford, UK, who evaluated him and recommended MIBG therapy. This therapy is not available in Russia, but can be performed in the UK for the total cost of 20,000 pounds.
Please help Vlad get access to treatment he needs!
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Sofia Kharchyk is a 2-year-old from Ukraine. In June 2011 she was diagnosed with a very rare disease - brain sarcoma. Her parents sold their apartment in just 4 days and flew to Israel to start treatment. They are hoping to save their only child, but the treatment will take a long time and will be very expensive.
Please support Sofia in her fight against cancer! You can also visit her personal website to learn more.
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Sergei Makeev is from Moscow region. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1997. Since then he had three relapses of the disease. After the latest relapse, in February 2011, he was told that his doctors has nothing to offer him anymore. We helped Sergei get enrolled in an expanded access study for Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients in the US. The study was allowing patients with relapsed disease access a new drug that has shown impressive results in the earlier clinical trials. In June 2011 Sergei arrived to Greenville, SC to participate in the study. Thanks to the sponsor of the study, Sergei will be able to continue receiving medication even after it is approved for commercial use. However, since he will be staying in the US for several months, he needs support with lodging and living expenses.
Please help Sergei get well!
7/14/2011: A video about Sergei and another patient who arrived from Ukraine to participate in the same study was shown on the local TV.
8/24/2011: Great news: Sergei underwent CT scan that did not show any abnormalities in his chest! At his next infusion in September he will discuss it with his doctor.
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Susanna Simonyan is 24 and she lives in Tajikistan. When Susanna was just 18 months old, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. She was successfully treated and remained in remission for 18 years - until cancer returned in 2009… Treatment in Tajikistan and Russia was not effective, and Susanna now needs to travel abroad for better diagnostics and treatment. It is most unusual for neuroblastoma to occur in adults, and many pediatric oncology programs cannot accept Susanna as a patient. After extensive search, she was invited to travel for treatment in Germany. However, the treatment cost is unaffordable for her family.
Please help Susanna undergo appropriate treatment!
5/14/2011: Susanna and her mom traveled to Moscow for evaluation after Grant Life charity paid for their air tickets. Afterwards, Susanna plans to see a specialist in St. Petersburg to discuss further treatment.
7/8/2011: Susanna underwent imaging studies, blood tests and a tumor biopsy. Based on tumor testing, she has ganglioneuroma rather than neuroblastoma. A surgery is preliminarily scheduled for September.
8/1/2011: Susanna needs help with raising money for surgery and analysis of the tumor in Germany, estimated at 30,000 euros. Please help!
11/11/2011: Susanna’s bone fragment was sent for genetic test in Austria and the results showed presence of ganglioneuroblastoma cells. Thanks to Dr. Ambros, test was done for free. We are now looking for therapeutic recommendations for Susanna.
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Kamilla Demkina is 3 years old. In summer of 2009 she received a terrifying diagnosis: retinoblastoma or cancer of her left eye. After several cycles of chemotherapy in Russia that were unsuccessful, her parents started looking for clinics abroad. In October 2009, Kamilla had two surgeries in Essen, Germany, which saved her eye and her life, as well as preserved some vision. At this time, Kamilla’s treatment is completed. However, until she is 6 years old, she needs to travel to Essen for regular checkups, as retinoblastoma is an aggressive cancer and can return at any time. Unfortunately, Russian hospitals lack equipment that could detect microscopic lesions and tools to remove them before they have grown and spread. Kamilla’s family spends 1500 euros for each examination and needs support to continue checkups.
Please help Kamilla stay healthy!
8/24/2011: On July 5 Kamilla traveled to Germany for the examination. The tests confirmed remission. Next trip is scheduled for November 8th.
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5-year-old Slava Anufriev from Moscow got sick in October 2009. It took several months for the doctors to diagnose him with cancer, although they were unclear what exactly it was. Frustrated with slow progress, Slava’s parents brought him to a clinic in Israel on May 8, 2010. A week later, he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, stage IV. Since then he underwent 14 cycles of chemotherapy, including 6 high-dose cycles. Unfortunately, the disease had started to progress again and there is also residual bone marrow involvement. Slava will undergo two more 14-day cycles with irinotecan and temodal, followed by examination. If there is still no response, Slava will need to travel to another country for further treatment.
Please help Slava win his fight with cancer!
5/12/2011: Based on test results, Slava has only 5% of neuroblastoma cells in his bone marrow. Two additional cycles will be administered to strengthen results.
8/1/2011: Slava’s bone marrow is free of cancer. However, he still has residual tumor along his spine. Further treatment is being discussed.
8/15/2011: Slava now has a website.
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Olga Kholyavenko was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer after she underwent urgent surgery in August 2010 in Moscow, Russia. She lived alone in Moscow at that time but her daughter Katya, US resident, decided to bring her to Los Angeles to continue her cancer treatment since doctors in Moscow were very pessimistic about Olga’s prognosis. Now Olga is undergoing chemotherapy and will have to have another surgery here, probably in February 2011. She does not have any insurance in the US and is not qualified for any federal or private health insurance plan.
Please help Katya save her mom! Katya had also set up a personal fundraising page for her mom.
1/22/2011: Based on biopsy results, Olga has colon cancer, rather than ovarian cancer. She will now need to find a new oncologist and start a different therapy.
4/3/2011: Olga is continuing chemotherapy at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles.
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Khamid Khamidov is 15-years-old boy from Tajikistan. In June 2010, Khamid’s mother accepted an invitation from her friends in Colorado for one month’s stay in U.S. so Khamid, a talented and bright student, could attend summer English classes. But on a stopover in New York City, Khamid developed high fever and was rushed to a hospital where he was diagnosed with the acute lymphoblastic leukemia. While in remission, Khamid’s treatment should continue for at least one more year, on an outpatient basis. In the meantime, Khamid’s mother Nargis gave birth to a girl and they all are in a dire need of clothes, food, and place to live.
Please help Khamid to finish his treatment.
11/9/2011: Khamid is doing well and is now studying in 9th grade in International High School. Due to long-term steroid therapy, he developed vascular necrosis in his hip joint and started limping, but doctors believe it should get better after steroids are canceled.
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Elen Dilanyan is 4-year-old from Yerevan, Armenia. In March 2010, Elen got fever and started moaning when breathing. The parents went to the pediatrician who detected tumor in the right side of Elen’s abdomen. After subsequent CT scan, the doctors consented on neuroblastoma in the right retroperitoneal space with metastases in lymph nodes and liver. Elen was sent to the National Center of Oncology in Yerevan where after the biopsy she was diagnosed with the primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET). Elen completed a cycle of chemotherapy but was unable to complete the other two due to a weak immune system. The parents were advised to continue treatment abroad. Elen was taken to the Haim Sheba Medical Center in Israel where an examination revealed that PNET diagnosis was incorrect and she, in fact, had neuroblastoma. At this point, Elen is recommended to undergo intensive chemotherapy and surgery, followed by the autologous bone marrow transplantation.
Please support Elen!
9/29/2010: Elen finished the first cycle, but had serious complications and spent ten days at the hospital, for which her family was billed additional $15,000.
10/26/2010: Elen completed the 2nd cycle, but there was no improvement according to MIBG. She will have cisplatin added to the 3rd cycle.
12/29/2010: Based on last test results, Elen had good response to new protocol: the tumor shrank in half, and all the metastases had gotten smaller. Tumor activity had also gone down. Elen underwent a very important procedure: collection of her bone marrow. It will be needed for autologous transplant once chemotherapy stage of treatment in completed.
4/6/2011: Elen completed two more cycles of chemotherapy under a different protocol. After the third cycle, she will have a thorough examination.
6/13/2011: Unfortunately, Elen had a progression of her disease. Her treatment protocol was modified.
10/25/2011: Elen and her parents transferred to Greifswald, Germany for further treatment. Elen had completed diagnostics and two cycles of chemotherapy. After two more cycles she will be re-evaluated.
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Miroslava Petrinina is from Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine. Until she was 1, she seemed to develop like other babies: she sat down and got her first teeth right on schedule. She was only delayed with walking. Months were going by, but Miroslava never tried to get up and walk. Massage did not help either. Eventually, Miroslava’s pediatrician referred her for MRI scan - and the results were shocking. Mira had numerous brain lesions and hydrocephaly. To add to the stress, doctors’ opinions varied. The one thing they agreed on was that the tumor was inoperable. Then Miroslava parents heard of Helios Clinic in Germany where other Ukrainian kids with brain tumors were treated successfully. They followed their lead and brought Miroslava for a consultation to Berlin in January 2010. At the clinic, Miroslava was diagnosed with medulloblastoma. The treatment was started immediately and Miroslava is gradually improving. She already finished four cycles of chemotherapy and is now completing radiation therapy. Still, Miroslava needs to undergo six more cycles of chemotherapy, which will cost close to 30,000 euros.
Please help Miroslava complete her treatment!
Video of Miroslava and Vanya Chernozub playing together.
8/25/2010: Article about Miroslava was published in Argumenty i Fakty newspaper [in Russian].
10/8/2010: Miroslava completed one of the six cycles of maintenance therapy planned. Her blood counts plummeted and she was hospitalized for blood transfusions. She is planned to undergo control MRI once her blood counts rise. Miroslava still needs a lot of support!
11/9/ 2010: Miroslava is undergoing the second cycle. After her blood counts plummeted, she caught an infection and spent 5 days at the hospital on antibiotics therapy. She is now stable. Mira is growing and developing. She learned to speak many words and enjoys going to classes at the clinic. However, she is not walking yet. Mira will start physical therapy very soon to help her with walking. She will undergo control MRI tests on November 17th.
8/28/2011: Miroslava is still being treated in Germany. Although she is stable, she has residual tumors. It is not clear whether they have active cancer cells or not. Next week she will go for MRI and her further treatment will be discussed.
