Better chances for childhood cancer in Brazil

Luna is 9 and her rhythmic gymnastics movements are so graceful and beautiful that her mother is overcome with joy when she watches her daughter perform. “She always wanted to be a great gymnast and we have given her every support to help make her dream come true”, says her mother.

 But the little girl’s life was not always so easy. When she was just two years old she began to feel severe pains in her stomach, and her parents were terrified.

 An ultrasound scan detected a large lump in one of her kidneys, which was diagnosed as a tumor already at an advanced stage. She was immediately taken to the GRAACC Hospital where she started chemotherapy and was then operated on to remove her left kidney.

 “I had no idea what sort of disease this was. We were fortunate enough to go to this marvelous GRAACC hospital which provided all the facilities our daughter needed for a cure”, her mother recalls.

 The procedure was a success, and for eight months Luna appeared to be in good health, until they found that the tumor had returned and, this time, was very close to the vena cava. Radiotherapy was prescribed to treat the tumor without risking damage to the heart. Luna underwent 24 months of treatment in all, until the hospital told them she could be discharged.

 “I learned a lot about resilience from Luna. Even when she was little she was strong and faced difficult times with a smile. As a way of commemorating this victory, we all took part in the GRAACC Run and Walk which takes place every year, and we have kept the medal so that we never forget that the battle was long but the result made up for it”, says Luna’s father.

 Luna’s treatment stopped five years ago. She goes to school, loves dancing and going to the pool, enjoys spending time with the family, especially her younger brothers and sisters, and is determined to learn the finer movements of rhythmic gymnastics. Now she has all her life ahead of her.