Alina Kim

In June of 2020 two year-old Alina had to underwent a complicated medical procedure of bone marrow transplantation. It is known that this procedure is used for the treatment of patients with severe forms of oncological diseases. The little girl has cancer — neuroblastoma of retroperitoneum, stage IV.  Currently the girl is undergoing treatment at the Federal State Budgetary Institution National Medical Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology named after Dmitry Rogachev in Moscow.

 The doctors follow a strict protocol when appointing therapy for certain types of diseases.  To continue the treatment Alina is recommended to undergo immune therapy with medication in the amount of 15 vials. This medication must be purchased abroad by the parents on their own because it is not registered in Russia. The cost of the required number of vials is almost 19 000 000 rubles. This sum is impossible to cover for Alina’s parents.

 Also, according to the protocol, immune therapy must be carried out on day 100 after bone marrow autologous transplantation. The treatment of the child has to start in September! Time is the main enemy of the little Alina in this fight against the disease. Unfortunately, the less time there is for help, the more helpless is the child in the face of her diagnosis.

 Alina’s story was told by her mother — Galina Mun:

 “In late September of 2019, when Alina was a year and a half, I noticed her increased sweating, sluggishness, and the thermometer showed that her body temperature was 37-37.2. We visited the pediatrician at the place of our residence in Nakhodka several times. Alina was diagnosed with ARVI and prescribed with antibiotics, but that was enough only for a few days, then the symptoms returned. In the middle of November I noticed that Alina’s belly was swollen, so I called an ambulance. In the hospital a surgeon examined the child and recommended to show her to an infectious disease specialist. He said that surgical treatment was not needed. On the next day we visited the pediatrician again and asked for referrals for tests. On the next morning I woke up and saw that Alina’s whole face was swollen, so I called an ambulance again. We were brought to pediatric unit, and the doctors of the admission department felt a mass in her stomach. After full examination carried out in the Territorial Pediatric clinical hospital of Vladivostok city she was diagnosed with a tumor and underwent biopsy.

 On November 1, 2019, a tumor resection surgery was completed. Chemotherapy according to vital indications was administered from November 13.

For further treatment we were sent to the Medical Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology named after Dmitry Rogachev. On February 21 a tumor (90%) and metastases resection surgery was completed. After that the child had a hemorrhagic shock. She had to urgently undergo the 2nd surgery and stayed in induced coma for 3 days. Then treatment with sedatives was stopped, but Alina did not regain conscience. Due to everything that happened, the child suffered an ischemic stroke. Alina stayed in the ICU connected to artificial ventilation device for 14 days. Then we were transferred to the regular department to undergo the rest 2 chemotherapy courses. Following the surgery she was prescribed with additional high dose chemotherapy and autologous transplantation of bone marrow.

 Alina became more active and gained some weight after the surgery for resection of the major part of the tumor. My daughter’s condition is stable now. Currently she undergoes a restorative period for the body after bone marrow transplantation. The next stages are dry chemotherapy and radiation therapy for the remaining tumor tissue”.

 Neuroblastoma is a very unpredictable disease. This is why it is rather hard to predict the way the tumor is going to develop, as well as the way the body will respond to the treatment even for those specialists who work with patients suffering from oncological diseases every day. There is at least one important influencing factor — age. A young body is able to use the most amazing mechanisms to survive sometimes. Alina has stage 4 of the disease, high risk group. Immune therapy increases the chance that the disease will not return.

 Alina’s father is the only one who provides for the family. Alina has an elder brother Semyon, he is 4 and he goes to kindergarten. Alina’s parents are unable to purchase the immune therapy medication using their own funds, which is why they have to ask charity funds, organizations and people who care for help.

 When any person, especially a child, is diagnosed with an oncological condition, this diagnosis turns their lives upside down! The familiar world is crumbling! It is a new life — with fear, obscurity, and the necessity to make life-or-death decisions. It requires time and strength, both physical and mental. Many people try to cope with it on their own: they feel embarrassed to ask for help or do not believe that anyone would help them in the moment of need. We need to act fast, because a life of a child depends on us! If there is a chance, it should be used no matter the cost! We need to unite and offer the little Alina a helping hand!