Pavel, an eight-year-old boy from Russia, is in complete remission after a rhabdomyosarcoma relapse three years ago

Pavel's mother, Anastasiya, still remembers how it all started. Pavel was only 18 months old when, one day, his grandmother noticed that his left leg was swollen and he was limping.

The young boy was referred to an oncology center in his home country, where he was diagnosed with a rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant tumor that develops from musculoskeletal precursor cells. It is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in pediatric patients that can appear in any part of the body.

Medical professionals treating Pavel in Russia performed three operations to remove the tumor mass, and he was treated with several cycles of chemotherapy. ‘It was a very difficult time. Pavel was very young and suffered many side effects’, explains his mother.

A few months after finishing treatment in his home country, the tumor returned. The family started looking for alternative treatments outside of their country. Pavel's mother remembers that ‘in Germany they suggested amputating his leg and in Moscow they took so long to respond that we lost faith in them’. A family that they knew, whose child was being treated at the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital, recommended they get in touch with us.

Treatment at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital

‘When we first saw Dr Mora, we felt like everything would be fine at this hospital because he gave us hope for our son’. Pavel and his family arrived in Barcelona in February 2021. The medical team confirmed the rhabdomyosarcoma relapse and Pavel began treatment with rescue chemotherapy.

Dr Mora recalls that ‘after the fourth cycle of Pavel's chemotherapy, in one of the tests, we detected a small area of residual tumor activity and we considered operating. In the end, since it was so small, we opted for proton-beam radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy’. On 31 December 2021, Pavel finished treatment and, a few days later, tests confirmed that he was in complete remission and could return home. Nowadays, Pavel is still in complete remission and only needs to come to the hospital for his yearly check-up.

‘We never felt like Pavel was sick while at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital’

Pavel's mother describes some of the differences between the hospital in Russia and the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital: ‘Here, when I asked Dr Mora what Pavel couldn't do, he said that Pavel could do anything, like any healthy boy: go to the beach, go out to play at the park... For us, that was incredible, because in Russia, sick children with cancer have to stay in hospital’.

The family also highly rates the support they received at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital: ‘In Moscow, there was no space for parents in the hospital rooms. At this hospital, I could be with my son at all times, looking after him and sleeping by his side’.

Pavel has spent a large portion of his life in hospital, but he has always adapted very easily. His mother explains that, when everything started, he was so young that he thought that this was just his life, ‘but he was content and had good support’, she notes. Today, at eight years old, Pavel lives a completely normal life in his country. He goes to school, goes swimming, is very active and has lots of friends. It is important for him to always have an adult nearby, but his daily life is like that of any other boy his age. ‘The SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital gave us back our hope, letting us see our son as a healthy boy. We will always think fondly of this hospital and its team of professionals’, concludes Anastasiya.