Doctors in Poland diagnose cancer in as many as 1300 children a year. Leukemias are the most common. Such a serious illness of a child changes the life not only of him, but of the whole family – emphasize doctors and parents of sick children. Treatment usually takes several years.
The World Cancer Day on February 4, the International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15, and the World Day of the Sick, established by John Paul II, are this month for doctors and social organizations an opportunity to remind about patients and about preventive examinations.
Unfortunately, many cancers are also found too late in children. It is certainly very important to recognize early and be aware – in society and among pediatricians – that a child, including an infant, may also develop cancer. Early diagnosis is crucial, especially in non-leukemic neoplasms, where there are clinical grades. In the case of stage I and II, the chances of recovery are very high, e.g. in sarcomas – in the order of 70%, but if we have stage IV, unfortunately only 20%. And when there is a bad reaction to chemistry, unfortunately these children die – says the head of the hematology and oncology department of the Chorzów Center of Paediatrics and Oncology, Dr. Maria Wieczorek.
Although this ward treats severe cases, and from time to time information about the death of little patients is reported, there is no sign of sadness. Children deprived of their hair after chemotherapy, wearing surgical masks – to avoid infection because their immunity is lower – run around the corridor after a ball or with robot toys in hand. In the common room at the end of the corridor, a few-year-olds connected to an IV tube, also wearing a mask, are fighting a boxing duel with a virtual opponent on the video console. It is no wonder. What the practically bloodless children do here sometimes don’t fit in your head – laughs one of the doctors.
On the wall of the common room, there are entries of stars visited by sick children – Szymon Majewski, Kamil Durczok, boxer Damian Jonak, who wrote that in life you have to fight to the end, just like in the ring. There are books, games, toys; the teacher conducts art classes every working day. TV sets with fairy tales rumble in the rooms, and from the ward cooker you can hear the delicious smells of dishes brought to you by caring grandmothers or daddies. This is an unusual ward – nurses, orderlies, patients and their parents know each other by name, because treatment often takes many months.
Here, not only pharmacological treatment is important, but also the entire setting. I am happy when there is such a homely atmosphere, I am happy how mums get in touch with each other, how they support each other, react to each other’s needs. My heart just grows when I hear about such signals. We want children to feel good here, so that parents also feel good – if possible, but we also need them to be able to take care of their surroundings, to keep them in order, because it is for the child’s benefit. If he is coughing – you have to put on a mask, if you need to isolate – it will adapt. It is a difficult combination of everyday life with treatment – says the head physician.
Leukemia accounts for one-third to a quarter of diagnoses in children. Brain tumors come second, followed by other, rarer tumors. Many of them – such as neuroblastomas or nephromas – are typical cancers of several-year-old children. Lymphomas affect older children, in late school age and adolescents. There are even tumors that are virtually congenital, fortunately very rare. In such young children, they usually appear quite stormy.
When we found out about the diagnosis, for three days I felt as if I was not there, I didn’t know what was going on at all – says Agnieszka, mother of a 3,5-year-old Filip, who suffers from XNUMXth degree neuroblastoma with bone and lung metastases , to the marrow and to the abdominal cavity.
Doctors looked for the causes of leg pain from March to July. First they suspected hip arthritis after infection, then growing pains, and finally rheumatoid arthritis. Only in the rheumatology ward, Filipek was given an ultrasound of the abdomen, a large tumor of the adrenal gland was found. On the same day he was sent to Chorzów.
The boy was already in a serious condition, he was constantly receiving morphine due to severe pain, and seven pumps worked on him for a month. Later, the treatment was effective and Filipek’s condition improved. Apart from the lack of hair and a pale face, the toddler full of energy does not show any symptoms of the disease, but he still has a long treatment. Doctors estimate his chances of recovery at 30 percent.
It’s very little, but I don’t believe in numbers, in statistics. There came a moment when Philip asked: Mom, do you love me, are you angry – as he saw me always bleating when I left the bathroom. I realized that I had to be needed by Philip, not him by me. It was not Philip who was supposed to comfort me, I should have been his support, foundation, and so it turned out. A man in the worst, cruel moments in his life has such strength in himself that he is able to overcome everything. I do not know where this strength comes from, I cannot explain – says Agnieszka.
It is a walking encyclopedia in the field of childhood cancer. When her son fell ill, she spent long night hours on the internet to make sure he was treated in the best possible way. Although he is an architect by profession, he reproaches himself for not having thought about having an ultrasound of his abdomen before.
Sometimes a child goes to the pediatrician and he does not say anything. Sometimes the only symptom of cancer is that the child becomes irritable, something changes, something hurts, you don’t know what’s going on. I always tell pediatricians – listen to what your mother says and not ignore her observations, such as behavior. It is definitely important to do an ultrasound – it is a simple examination that does not burden the patient. The more so because thanks to the action of Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy there are very high-end cameras all over Poland. Children examining children must be very patient, because it is known that a child will not necessarily comply and will lie down nicely. We had already had such situations that the examination showed nothing wrong, and then it turned out that it was impossible for the description to be correct, because in a few days we detected a tumor. But probably the child was restless, screaming. In such situations, it may be better to recommend repeating the test, entrusting it to the parent who is concerned about the child, appeals Dr. Wieczorek.
Filip does not quite know that he is sick. As he says, the hospital is a bit boring and there are hard beds. But he likes to play here with his friends, whom he has infected with love for Godzilla. He also likes cars and tractors. Teens who are present in the ward know about their illness. For them, the problem is months of isolation from peers – weeks spent in a sanitary regime room, individual learning at school. The second problem is changes in appearance. Hair falls out after chemo, and after steroids you gain weight and your face changes.
17-year-old Jola has been undergoing treatment for nearly three years. While the disease should have recovered by now, the results are still not the best. Photography and confectionery are her passions. During his apprenticeship in a confectionery, he decorates cakes and cheesecakes, and after graduating from vocational school, he wants to educate himself as a photographer. She is also a volunteer in a hospice. Always smiling, on the ward surrounded by a swarm of younger children.
In his laptop, he shows photos of carnival balls organized every year by the Iskierka Foundation cooperating with the branch. There are dances, chocolate fountains in which children dip their fruit. A disguise is required for everyone. Here is the head of the ward in an officer outfit, this little girl, who looks like an angel, is no longer alive, and neither is my friend – she says calmly.
I used to always cry about it, especially when my close friends left the ward. The head physician talked to me about it a lot, she explained that it would not come back to life for a given person. I got used to this disease, I treat it normally. Nothing hurt – I even liked putting on cannulas, although sometimes I was so stabbed that the nurses did not know where to stick. I even tolerated the chemistry well, although some children are sick of just seeing a drip. Then they cover it with a teddy bear or a pillowcase – she says.
Jola admits that the disease changed her life – she goes outside less, she has fewer contacts with healthy peers – although text messages from friends come to her phone every now and then. However, I think that I would not have met many people if it were not for the disease. Its good points are friendships, many contacts, trips with the foundation, help in the hospice. I go to old people who are waiting to die, to talk and laugh. This is also necessary, especially when nobody visits them, because the family turns away from them. Why am I not just thinking about my problems? Locking yourself in your world is no way out. It will give me nothing, no satisfaction, and at least I can help at least – he argues.
After a moment’s thought, she says there’s one thing she bothered about – when her hair started falling out. She even slept in a handkerchief, and when some strangers in the store said aloud at the sight of her: She is bald, therefore she was wearing a handkerchief, she felt sorry. Then I got used to it, my hair grew back. The steroids also made a lot + swollen +, but I am shedding slowly – he assures.
When the weekend comes, many mums are replaced by dads so that they can breathe a bit of non-hospital air. Many families break up during treatment because they cannot stand the breakups, this stress. Mum, spending long weeks here, is sometimes torn between a sick child and another, healthy, but neglected child. These are very difficult situations – says Dr. Wieczorek.
After Filip fell ill, Agnieszka closed down her company. Worries about her older 10-year-old daughter. She feels removed, very much. I know that he does not feel safe, as he sees Filip, although they love each other. His dad later recovered. It is harder than I am, because he goes to work, sometimes he travels far, for a few days. Then he tells me: Aga, they talk about such banal things, and I am beyond that, I have a completely different awareness of things, of being. You do something with people who suffer from this disease, they look at the world differently – she says.
Dr. Wieczorek is most afraid of complications, because every patient – even with the same disease, is different, and there are few who go like clockwork, according to the treatment protocol. I am afraid of this leukemia, I am afraid of this fight because I know that there are always additional problems along the way. I try to predict them, but there is always something else that will surprise me. For me, it is a dangerous enemy mainly because it is unpredictable – he says.
According to the head of the department, this ward is not sad, although it is mentally difficult. People try to do more for these children, not only give them chemistry, which makes us become attached to the patient. Maybe it’s good, maybe it’s bad. We are always sorry that something is wrong. Certainly the most we always have in our minds, in our hearts, our failures. Faster man goes to the agenda over success. When someone who has recovered comes, we are happy: hello, you look cool, you grow! These failures lag behind. These are tragedies that we experience together with our families – he admits.
Anna Gumułka (PAP)
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