Two days before the New Year 2016, at the age of 4.5 years, our son was diagnosed with a malignant liver cancer — hepatoblastoma. It is a rare childhood malignant neoplasm. There are about 20 cases per year in Poland. After 13 months of hard fight for the health and life of our son, on 2.02.2017 Antony passed away before reaching the age of 6 years old.
Our son liked to play with blocks, ride a bike and paint — it is his works that decorate the website. In recent months of hospital stays he started to like playing on the console. He also wanted to learn how to ski, play hockey and sign up for martial arts, as well as play for many years together with his younger brother Miloszek, whom he loved brotherly love (with reciprocity). His dream was to become an astronaut or a firefighter.
With first day of New Year we got to the oncology clinic Przyladek Nadziei (exact translation: Cape of Hope, page in polish) in Wroclaw and under the wings of ‘Na Ratunek dzieciom z choroba nowotworowa’ (exact translation: To the Rescue of children with cancer, page in polish) foundation.
The original treatment was composed (among others) of pre-surgical chemotherapy, surgical tumor removal, post-surgical chemotherapy and even longer process of rehabilitation and observation if tumor won’t convert. That was an optimistic variant — during tumor treatment there occur different complications like in our case.
Original treatment failed to provide expected results. Antony underwent many additional surgical operations (of burning out new metastasis changes), but there still were no control over disease. Thus Antony was directed to Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw for liver transplantation, which (preceded with additional chemotherapy) took place on 30th of September 2016.
Transplantation was in fact a switch of original disease to new one. Unfortunately couple of weeks after transplantation operation it appeared cancer is still active. Antony received further chemotherapy which didn’t brought expected results — the cancer was extremely malignant and continued to develop out of control. Before Christmas 2016, we had our last palliative infusion, which allowed our family to spend Christmas together at home. On January 31, 2017 Antek was transferred to the Hospice for Children of Lower Silesia. Two days later he passed away.
During 13 months of treatment, with the help of ‘Na Ratunek Dzieciom z Chorobą Nowotworową’ (exact translation: To the Rescue of children with cancer, page in polish) foundation, we collected money for the treatment and rehabilitation of our son. All the funds unused for the treatment of Antohy were transferred to the statutory purposes of the foundation, in accordance with its regulations (in polish: Regulamin Kont Imiennych — translation: Rules of Registered Accounts).
Ela & Kacper (Antony parents)