T-cell lymphoma ❗ Support Alan's fight ❗

The world after diagnosis

On December 15, 2023, Alan's everyday life came to a halt at one disturbing point. The symptoms appeared suddenly and grew worse with each passing hour, requiring urgent hospitalization. At the hospital, a series of diagnostic procedures were performed, including a node biopsy, decompression of the left lung, lumbar puncture, and MRI.

Waiting for the results was a period of limbo, during which the parents tried to hold on to the last shreds of hope. They wanted to believe that this was only a temporary crisis, that the worst-case scenario did not apply to them. The diagnosis cut through that hope with a single sentence. Stage III T-cell lymphoma.

These words echoed in their minds as if someone had suddenly slammed the door on their former life. In an instant , their hearts broke under the weight of fear and resentment that their child had to face such a ruthless opponent.

Several months of treatment

Treatment began immediately and continued uninterrupted for ten months. Alan is being treated according to the LBL 2018 program and is participating in a clinical trial, which means many stages that the child's body must go through, regardless of fatigue and anxiety.

The disease did not come alone. It was accompanied by complications that made everyday life more difficult with each new symptom. PRES syndrome, hemorrhagic cystitis, and epileptic seizures meant that every day required vigilance, the constant presence of adults, and uninterrupted readiness for the next crisis. Weakened by treatment, his body became delicate and sensitive to every impulse, and his parents constantly balanced between hope and fear of what the next morning would bring. Since September 2024, Alan has been on maintenance treatment. This is a time of uncertainty, when every test result can become a signal guiding the family's next steps.

Life between home and illness

Although Alan is at home today, his everyday life is still far from what it was before his illness. He does not go to school, he is taught individually, and trips to the hospital have become a natural part of the family calendar.

There is also an older brother who experiences his own version of this story, searching for his place in a world where his parents' attention must be divided between two children and difficult decisions must be made.

The family bears the burden of the disease on many levels. It is an emotional, physical, and financial burden that grows with each month, each procedure, and each trip to the hospital. Although they know that there is no escaping this reality, they try to protect Alan and his brother from the disease taking more than it has to.

Each of them is a promise that one day they will regain their childhood, which awaits just beyond the border of illness.