Little martyrs dreaming of tomorrow

On International Childhood Cancer Day there were so many people waiting to donate blood at the donor center of the Kyiv Regional Oncological Dispensary that they had to stand in line.

Kyiv resident and veteran donor Natalia Bosak visits the center almost every two months to donate blood to the children’s Oncohematology Ward. She says she would come more often, but the doctors forbid this.

“There are approximately 40 patients between 1 and 21 years of age at the children’s oncohematology ward, who have been diagnosed with malignant tumors and leukemia. These children constantly need donor blood for effective treatment. The ward constantly lacks supplies of the most basic items, and all expenses are borne by the young patients’ parents. A course of intensive therapy costs them between 80,000 and 100,000 hryvnias. Of course, few families can afford this, so we try to give every child a chance at survival by looking for sponsors,” said Bosak.

According to Dr. Natalia Derbeniova, the head of the Oncohematology Ward, diagnosing children with cancer no longer means a death verdict. Between 75 and 85 percent of young patients can overcome this disease. However, this percentage can be achieved only with adequate diagnostic capacities, expensive drugs, and modern equipment. In many cases, there are only enough state funds to purchase basic chemical preparations.

“For example, we always need systems for preparing thromboconcentrate. Each system costs about 1,000 hryvnias. Without them it is impossible to make thromboconcentrate transfusions, which are of vital importance to the patients. Even if the ward receives the slated state budget funds in 2008, they will cover only 40 percent of our expenses,” Derbeniova said.

Parents with sick children often sell whatever they own — even their homes — to pay for their treatment, but even these sacrifices are sometimes not enough. “Refusing treatment is a death sentence, so we try to find sponsors for low-income families — and most of our patients come from such families. Not long ago we had a five-year-old girl by the name of Nastia. When her father learned about her disease, he left the family and even tried to have his wife and daughter evicted. We turned to some caring people for help. We succeeded in obtaining the required sum. We also found lawyers, who helped protect Nastia and her mother from the man’s encroachments on the apartment, and they waived their fees,” said another volunteer on the ward, Oksana Piaskivska.

She is a television journalist and has been working with the children’s oncohematology ward for one year, visiting the young patients once or twice a week after work. “Quitting this volunteer job is very hard; if you succeed in helping one child, you want to do it again,” she said.

The young cancer patients also get regular visits from artist Kateryna Sapozhkova, who gives art therapy sessions. “I found out about the problems faced by children with cancer after our family was stricken by this kind of tragedy. That was when I decided I would do my best to help these children. The patients in this ward have to spend months, even years here. Through art classes they can maintain contact with the outside world and express their emotions and feelings,” she said.

The young cancer patients usually draw pictures of their homes and nature scenes, the very things they miss so badly. Sometimes during the art sessions real talents are discovered among the patients whose parents are totally unaware of their children’s gifts. One of these talented children is 13-year-old Viktoria Maruda, who has spent more than a year on the ward. She says she wants to be an artist when she grows up.

“Unfortunately, the girl is fading before our very eyes. The specialists have exhausted every possible method to treat Viktoria’s aggravated aplastic anemia. Their current recommendation is a bone marrow transplant from a non-family donor. These operations are done abroad and cost 130,000 dollars. Her mother is asking all caring people to help her daughter, who has only a few months left to live, if not days,” Piaskivska said.

Another patient on the ward, Vitalii Arsenin, is known as the “philosopher.” No one could describe the ideas that he expresses as childish. Here is an example: “I believe that our sufferings will one day turn into joy for the children who will be born in the future. It is worth suffering for this.” Vitalii is also convinced that he will recover. He will then choose a profession that will bring the greatest benefit to others.

If you would like to help the young patients on the children’s Oncohematology Ward at the Kyiv Oncological Dispensary, please write to: Therapeutics Bldg. #9, 7th Floor, 1 Bahhovutivska Street, Kyiv, or call our volunteers: 8-067-467-15-26 (Natalia), 8-066-293-54-68 (Oksana).