Press Release
Συγγραφέας iator Γράφτηκε στις ,
Winning the battle against cancer
Boy from Cyprus and little girl
from the former Soviet Union
Adolescent from Cyprus and toddler from the former Soviet Union defeated cancer thanks to the technologically sophisticated medical treatment provided by Hadassah Medical Center, in Jerusalem.
The 14-year-old boy from Cyprus was brought to Hadassah with a massive tumor on his chest. Dr. Weintraub and thoracic surgeon, Dr. El-Ami, diagnosed the lesion as a malignant germ cell tumor. This tumor arose when germ cells migrated abnormally, during the embryonic period, traveling from the testes to the chest. They remained dormant for years, but eventually developed into a tumor. With surgery and chemotherapy, however, the boy recovered completely and returned to his normal life – which includes playing football!
The second case concerns a 2 1/2-year-old girl from the former Soviet Union. The toddler suffered from an eye tumor – retinoblastoma. Her parents had been told by their physician that both of the child’s eyes would have to be surgically removed. They found Prof. Jacob Pe’er, Director of Hadassah’s Department of Ophthalmology, and Dr. Michael Weintraub, Director of the Department of Pediatric Hemato-Oncology, on the internet and e-mailed them. Shortly after that, parents and child were at Hadassah, where tests and consultations began. The Hadassah team decided that, with chemotherapy, one of the girl’s eyes could definitely be saved and possibly the vision in her second eye, too. “In cases of retinoblastoma”, Dr. Weintraub explains, “we obviously do everything possible to control the tumor, which is our main concern. However, beyond the immediate medical need, we also try to avoid having to remove the eye for cosmetic reasons.”
Both children were treated at Hadassah’s Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Department, in Jerusalem. The Department is renowned for providing comprehensive and sophisticated medical therapy to children and adolescents with cancer and severe non-malignant hematological diseases.
Hadassah University Medical Center is represented in Cyprus by the organization iMER Medical Services (www.imer.biz).
23 February 2010
