NEWS:

4 February 2003
The re-examination of the bone marrow results was made in a German hospital. The conclusion: this particular form of lymphoma does not need a heavy radial therapy!

Almost two years has spend the boy in the Haematology departament of the Crimean Regional Children Hospital... And now - in the beginning of January - for the first time Alexy together with his parents came to a regular control as GUEST, not as a patient anymore!

The means which are collected for Alexy now are given to Alexander Shtilik.

4 September 2002
At the moment is Alexy discharged from the hospital with finished "protocol" treatment. But the diagnose is still not clear: which type of leukemia? Soon the samples of Alexy's bone marrow will be sent to a further examination. It will determine the form of a necessary treatment: to stop or continue with the supporting therapy; or start the preparations for the bone marrow transplantation.

20 May 2002
More than two months have passed since the request to help Alexy was posted on the Parental Initiative web site as the most urgent case. And help came. At the same time the hospital was exploring the possibility whether or not Alexy's little sister could be a bone marrow donor. In the end the result of the test proved negative meaning that unfortunately Alexy's sister is not a suitable match.
In the meantime Alexy's condition was worsening after each block of chemotherapy. Additionally, this in turn aggravated his Hepatitis condition. The domestic antibiotics used to treat Hepatitis were unsuccessful in treating his condition and it was then necessary to use imported medicines i.e. Intron & Pegintron. These expensive medicines were purchased from donations received, but what for the future?
In all probability a Bone Marrow transplant will not be possible not because of the absence of the funds required to carry out such a procedure or the lack of a suitable donor as both of these obstacles can be resolved. However the doctors believe that at this point Alexy would not be able to endure the intense chemotherapy treatment which would precede the transplant. Furthermore the aggravation of his Hepatitis makes the chemotherapy virtually impossible.
At the same time the present diagnosis stands in doubt. Without going into the intricacies of medical terminology, we shall briefly explain: there is a chance that a dose of polychemotherapy may successfully ensure that there is no recurrence of the illness. In this case the treatment would result in a chance of recovery generally speaking around 50/50.
After consultation with their colleagues in Kiev, our doctors have made the decision that Alexy will receive the FULL anti-recedive course consisting of 10 blocks of chemotherapy.
Following this treatment the doctors will again research the possibilities of carrying out a Bone Marrow transplant. Up to this point funds (3200 USD and 1480 EUR) have been spent purely on the medication (Pegintron) necessary for Alexys treatment. The means collected will not be directed to any other purpose, so we are now waiting for the opportunity to be able to be able to continue his treatment.

7 January 2002
Alexy Gustenko requires a bone marrow transplantation in the immediate future.
There is no more time to wait. This week blood of potential donors will be sent to St. Petersburg for testing. The operation itself will be carried out in Kiev.
Practically in order to make this possible Aleshy needs to collect a total amount of $7000; $5000 of this value must be collected in a very short period of time.
We must give this boy a chance to survive!

(Helaas is deze pagina nog niet vertaald in het Nederlands. Onze excuses voor het ongemak.)

Alexy Gustenko
age 5

RECIDIVE OF LYMPHOMA!

This quiet little boy with radiant eyes and almost transparent skin is having difficult times now. But perhaps for his parents, Irina and Sergey, the times are even more difficult. After eight month of a difficult and expensive treatment, they have to start all over again...

First, Alexy (Lesha) was in the surgery department - the reason why his neck lymphatic centers swelled up has been obscure. Then the doctors decided to consult with hematologists - and the latter immediately recognized that this was "their" disease. But which disease? All tests suggested lympho-granulomatose, both done in Simferopol and those sent for confirmation to Kiev, to the Institute of Oncology. The corresponding treatment has been started, despite doctors' faint doubts that still remained. But these emotions could not be a sufficient reason for changing the treatment, for there were objective data, tests from the leading laboratories.

Unfortunately, blastae (the cancer cells) sometimes behave peculiarly - as if they are disguising by taking properties of cells of a different type. In the beginning of October Lesha survived a relapse. And new tests showed that the cells changed their shape dramatically. Lymphoma!

Lesha is very patient. Doctors say he never screamed during a very painful puncture of bone marrow. The doctor asked him: "Lesha, have patience" - and he did.

Having learned about the relapse, his mother cried in the corridor. Then she washed off her tears in the next ward and entered her son's room smiling: "Lesha, this is me. Everything OK?" Besides she manages to help others, telling newly accepted mothers how to look after a child with such diagnosis...

Lesha is to undergo the poly-chemical therapy, even heavier than the previous one. And, as far as can be seen now, he will need bone marrow transplantation. His parents have been buying the medications for their son for all 9 months that elapsed. But now their possibilities are exhausted.

WE ARE ASKING YOUR HELP FOR LESHA!
CONTACT US, HELP THE BOY SURVIVE !!!