COVID-19: treatment of childhood cancer can't stop

Beatriz, also known as “Bia,” is a very joyful and communicative girl. She lives in the city of Presidente Prudente, in the State of São Paulo. At the age of 10, she used to play guitar, sing, play with her four dogs, and go to school, but she was following her studies online, due to the pandemic. Amid these adaptations, she started to feel tired, lose weight and, shortly after that, she started to have fever.

Her parents sought for medical assistance. In the beginning, there was a possibility that she has contracted Covid-19, and, later on, she was thought to have caught dengue fever. The diagnosis came with a blood test: leukemia.

The pediatrician said that they could start the treatment in their city, but, in the case of complications, they would have to transfer the child to a larger and more specialized hospital. The family chose to start the treatment here in our hospital, where the girl would have support for any situation. So, mother and daughter moved temporarily to São Paulo, which was very difficult since they had to stay away from the father and their pets. They were also scared for having to face cancer.

But soon, our team worked to make Bia feel comfortable and present her ‘shows’ with lots of singing for an audience of nurses in the periods that she stayed at the hospital. Besides singing, Bia likes to make bracelets and she intends to be a fashion designer. So, we gave her a painting kit so that she could draw and paint her dresses.

Despite all these actions to ease the difficulties imposed by the treatment, in the last 13 months the girl had many breakthroughs, including when she had to be treated for Covid-19 and leukemia at the same time. This was only possible because our team was prepared and updated, having defined protocols to find and treat the new disease in an early stage based on the current literature. “We felt afraid because we knew that her immunity was low, but we were also very confident in GRAACC’s Hospital. Today, we praise each victory because we know everything that we had to face to get to this point,” says Bia’s mother, Camila. Once, during chemotherapy, Bia was asked what was her greatest dream. She did not hesitate to say that what she wished most was to go back home and play with her dogs.

This dream has already come true. Bia is now in a maintenance phase. She has chemotherapy each eight weeks, and she was already released to go back to her hometown and commemorate together with her pets at home. But she would not leave the hospital without embracing her doctor, the oncologist, who was nicknamed “Dr. Vi” by Bia.

The second commemoration planned is Bia’s 11th birthday party. “Since her birthday was in a moment of low immunity, we promised that she would commemorate at home with her friends,” said Camila. Bia is already preparing this meeting, while longing for her final commemoration. “When I finish the treatment, I will parade in my father’s decorated car throughout the city, with lots of balloons and colorful paints, with the words: ‘I beat cancer!’,” she said.

Just as Bia, thousands of children long for their cure each year in our hospital. With your support, we can offer hope, and a humanized and quality treatment, so that they can celebrate more and more victories. Thank you very much!

Diagnosing and treating cancer in adolescence is one of the great challenges of pediatric oncology. Early recognition of the main signs that can point to the disease, such as nodules, spots and swelling is essential to increase the chances of cure. The parents need to be tuned for possible signs and seek specialized medical advice. When diagnosed early, our hospital achieved high cure rates in this age and were able to provide better quality of life and correct care”, explains doctor Eliana Caran, pediatric oncologist at GRAACC, specialist in adolescents.

“Cancer in adolescence has many specificities and its treatment can impact this stage of great physical, emotional and social development. That's why it's important that parents do like Victoria's parents did, diagnosed with a bone tumor in her arm when she was 12 years old. “After bumping into her cousin during a game, the emergency room doctors said it was a dislocation. But the pain continued and her arm became warm from the inflammation. We persisted and took Victória to the orthopedist, who diagnosed the tumor and referred us to GRAACC Hospital”, says Joseane, the patient's mother.

“That is why it is so important to be in specialized centers in pediatric oncology that, in addition to the experience in dealing with tumors of adolescence, which is different from the treatment of cancer in adults, understand the impacts of the discovery of the disease and the peculiarities of therapeutic approaches in teenagers’ lives”, explains Dr. Eliana Caran.

Every day, new patientes as Victoria come to our hospital in search of cancer treatment and cure. With the help of people like you, we are able to offer treatment so that they get every chance of being cured, preserving their quality of life.