3-yr-old hopes for a way out of cancer
dubai — Like all boys of his age, three-year-old Yadhav Satheesh loves to watch cartoons and do summersaults on his couch at home. However, since he turned one-year and eight months old, Yadhav, his parents Eliya Thomas and Satheesh Kumar and older sister Theertha, have only had the time to go in and out of hospitals.
The family suffered a devastating shock when their younger son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in February 2017. ALL is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). After completing aggressive rounds of chemotherapy for around eight months in 2017, Yadhav entered maintenance therapy for his cancer, and his parents were thrilled with the outcome.
Second relapse and treatment
Unfortunately, on June 26, to the utter dismay of his parents, the three-year-old’s cancer relapsed once more. According to the team of doctors working on Yadhav’s case, given that his cancer relapsed at such an early stage, the family’s only option is a bone marrow transplant and follow-up treatment. Doctors and Yadhav’s parents considering sending Yadhav’s sister Theertha’s bone marrow samples to test if she can be his donor.
“For the bone marrow transplant to be successful, one has to have a genetic match with the patient. Usually, there is a 25 per cent chance for the sibling to be an identical donor. If there isn’t a match, we will look the parents or external donors if the parents don’t show a genetic match as well,” said Dr Anjan Madasu, the paediatric oncologist at the Dubai Hospital. If the transplant does not work, doctors will need to consider targeted therapy and other aggressive treatments. The doctor also said that ALL has a usual cure
For the bone marrow transplant to be successful, one has to have a genetic match with the patient. Usually, there is a 25 per cent chance for the sibling to be an identical donor.” Dr Anjan Madasu, paediatric oncologist, Dubai Hospital
rate of 85 to 95 per cent, and Yadhav’s early relapse is a rare case. Yadhav has completed one block of chemotherapy, and the next one begins on July 15.
In Yadhav’s case, since bone marrow transplant is not readily available in the UAE, doctors and family members to have suggested the family do the surgery at Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. However, to conduct genetic match and other tests, the family has to wait until cancer has subsided in Yadhav, and this could take up to two months. “We are told the test results alone take three weeks,” said Satheesh.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com