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Luca’s story with battling neuroblastoma – Children’s Cancer Institute

Photo from Children's Cancer Institute/LinkedIn

Sep 15, 2024, 04:54

Luca’s story with battling neuroblastoma – Children’s Cancer Institute

Children’s Cancer Institute shared a post on Linkedln:

“One of two twin boys, Luca was a calm, quiet toddler who seemed in great health. But just before his 2nd birthday Luca was helping his mum Di in the garden when he slipped on some gravel.

Apart from some tears and a bump on his head, he seemed fine. However, a few days later, Di noticed Luca’s eyelids looked a bit dark. The next week, Luca was out of sorts, with a low-grade temperature.

After a visit to the GP, they were told to go to the hospital for a CT scan and a paediatric review.

There, they were told that Luca’s bloods were ‘really out of whack’ and his scans were not right. ‘The doctors said, ‘We’ve found a mass,’ and I screamed. I literally screamed.’

Initially, his parents were told the cancer was on Luca’s kidney. Further tests showed that Luca had high-risk neuroblastoma.

‘It was very confronting when that result came in, because the scan lit up like a Christmas tree,’ says Di. ‘I said, ‘Please tell me the coloured bits are not the disease.’ And the doctor told me they were.’

Luca began chemotherapy, and had surgery to remove the tumour in his abdomen. He then had two autologous stem cell transplants – transplants using his own stem cells – then radiation therapy followed by immunotherapy.

Scans revealed he had a tumour at the base of his skull which had wrapped itself around the optic nerve, causing blindness in his right eye. He also suffered severe high frequency hearing loss, caused by two of the drugs he was given.

‘The hardest thing for me to comprehend is when kids pass away due to treatment-related toxicity and complications,’ says Di. ‘The number of children we know who passed away because their bodies just couldn’t handle it… it’s just awful.’

Since finishing treatment, Luca has quickly gained strength and is enjoying Kindergarten this year.

‘I just wish that every child had the same chance as Luca to be here. And that one day, treatment will be a lot safer. Because our kids deserve better.’

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neuroblastoma