Free Accommodation for Kids with Cancer in Ukraine

Dear friends,

thank you for standing with Ukraine! Your contributions help give a home away from home to families with seriously ill children on treatment.

Lviv is a relatively safe city in Ukraine where cancer treatment is possible. Families who have escaped from occupied territories or combat zones often live in overcrowded apartments, houses, shelters, or even school gyms. For children affected by cancer with zero immunity, it is not acceptable. Besides, with frequent air raid alarms, anxiety increases if families are always apart: mothers and children in the hospital, and the other children with fathers in the shelters.

That’s why families with ill children need accommodation not far from the hospital to be together as much as possible. Like little Elina, you see in the picture. Her family left Kharkiv Oblast in April 2022 to stay in their distant relative’s house in the Lviv Oblast. They couldn’t remain in the region neighboring Russia under constant missile and artillery attacks. At that time, the family could not imagine that they would have to face their daughter’s disease in addition to the horrors of the war.

In June, Elina’s parents noticed that something was wrong. After a detailed examination, the doctors communicated a diagnosis – neuroblastoma with metastases. The condition of the little girl was critical. While the parents tried to hide their despair, Elina started receiving treatment after urgent hospitalization. Between therapies, the family needed a place to stay. It was dangerous for the girl to have long trips to go a remote town, to a house full of people. Your support helped provide the family with an apartment not far from the hospital.

In December, Elina had a high-dose chemotherapy with the following stem cell transplant. The procedure was successful. Before Christmas, the girl with her mom were released from a sterile suite in the hospital where they had spent almost a month. They were delighted to hug Elina’s father again, be together in their new home, and go for a nearby walk in the park. Thank you for making it possible!