Vladik was born in Ukraine in 2012. All was well, and he was growing up a smart and active boy. Vladik received many compliments on his beautiful eyes and he made his parents happy with his many talents. But then came the day that turned the life of the family into before and after: when Vladik was five and a half, he began to complain of severe abdominal pain and high fever. And so it began: doctors, tests, examination and the words: “Your son has cancer”.
The family had no choice but to accept this terrible news and begin their journey to find cure for Vladik. His parents took him for treatment abroad in a hospital in Turkey, as they were told that it was Burkitt’s lymphoma, stage IV. The tumor was 13 cm long. These were the most difficult seven months in Vladik’s life. He was far from home and from his brother, he was in severe pain and had to complete six blocks of high-dose chemotherapy. Finally his parents were told that Vladik achieved remission, and a week before Vladik’s birthday, they all flew home. Their life became completely different from then on. Fear had settled in their hearts, but as time passed, Vladik began to return to normal life. He even started first grade, although he studied at home, since in-person contacts were still dangerous for his weak immune system. Every day the family was gaining more hope and faith that everything is behind them. Vladik is now eight years old, he has grown and matured beyond his age, and when the headaches began he immediately told his parents.
The parents hoped that since more than two years had passed since Vladik achieved remission, this was not lymphoma. Unfortunately, after examination and surgery to remove the tumor that was found in Vladik’s head, the histology result surprised everyone – it turned out to be not lymphoma, but a malignant brain tumor – medulloblastoma. Cancer again, only a different type. It is such a rare occurrence that a child who has recovered from one type of cancer and does not have a relapse, but develops another cancer, that there are only a few documented cases in the world.
The doctors encourage the family to continue the fight for Vladik’s life, but treatment abroad costs a lot of money, and the family needs a lot of resources to ensure treatment is completed.