Milana Dereberia

Milana lives with unbearable pain every day! Save her from cancer!

Every day of 12-year-old Milana fights for the right to live. For 4 years cancer has been attacking her and trying to take her life.  Mila is exhausted, and her body is working at the limit. Sometimes the girl struggles so hard that she can't even breathe. There is no treatment in her home country, and the San Juan de Deu hospital is her last hope for survival.

Her mother has sold her flat, borrowed and gone into huge debt, but she still doesn't have enough money for treatment. Time is running out. Milana is at risk of being left on the street without a chance of recovery. Everyone needs help right now!

Milana has always been an active and motivated girl. She tried to please her mother - she got good grades, went to art school and always helped those in need. But in March 2019 she faced a difficult situation - she was between life and death. The girl started complaining of back pain. Doctors first misdiagnosed her - they treated her gallbladder for 2 months. But the pain didn't stop, it only got worse.

"When it became unbearable, we went for a paid examination. We were shocked - the lungs were filled with fluid, and a huge tumour was squeezing everything inside. A terrible diagnosis came into our lives - retroperitoneal neuroblastoma with mediastinal lymph node involvement, stage 4", recalls Milana's mother Yulia.

Milana has had four rounds of chemotherapy in Kazakhstan. For neuroblastoma, research with radioactive iodine is necessary, which is not done in the girl's home country, so her mother and her daughter went to Moscow. The treatment was continued at the Blokhin Cancer Research Centre in Moscow. Blokhin Scientific and Research Centre for Oncology. Thanks to the help of concerned people Milana underwent surgery, radiotherapy, 6 blocks of countercurrent chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant in Moscow.  

"Unfortunately, the tumour could not be removed completely, one small residue is still "glowing". Milana was prescribed immunotherapy. The treatment was costly for us, besides paying for the medicine itself, we had to pay for its administration, resuscitation, and tests because we are not citizens of Russia. We wrote to all foundations and all ministries, but we received refusals. The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan refused to purchase the medicine for immunotherapy. We asked for immunotherapy in Kazakhstan. How many tears we shed, I wrote 200 letters to all the companies in our city, region, all bloggers, and politicians, but no one was interested. Having looked at the prices of immunotherapy in different hospitals in Germany, Turkey, Spain, and Israel, we chose the best option - the offer of a Spanish clinic", - says Milana's mother.

After five courses of immunotherapy in a Spanish hospital, the tests showed that the rest of the tumour was not growing, and Milana was sent home for supporting therapy. But in April 2022, the tumour started growing again. Thanks to help from concerned people, her mother could take her back to Spain for treatment. Heart surgeons performed an emergency operation, and the Spanish doctors were able to remove completely the tumour.

Milana is at high risk of relapse, so she now needs several courses of immunotherapy with Naxitamab, the only way to achieve sustained remission.

"We have no money for further treatment. So many years of struggle have left us poor. We don't have an accommodation, I only get a children’s disability allowance. The new bill is huge. This treatment is not available in Kazakhstan, we have also undergone anti-relapse treatment in Moscow, and  the only chance left for life is to undergo treatment in Spain. I am crying out for help. I appeal to everyone,  PLEASE! My baby is in a hell of a lot of pain every day. The hospital is asking me to pay for the treatment. I don't know where to get the money. The clinic doesn't like it when big debts pile up. Our situation is precarious. We could just go without treatment, and everything would be for nothing! For God's sake, please save my daughter!" - Milana's mother appeals to everyone.

Milana is alive against all odds. She endures unbearable suffering and complex treatment. She supports her mother, who stays up all night looking for money. Milana is tired and sometimes suffers such severe pain that even strong medicine cannot save her. Despite this, she doesn't give up hope. When it gets a little easier, she immediately asks for her textbooks, doesn't give up on her studies, takes all the subjects remotely and passes all the tests and exams. She believes salvation is coming. She spends her life in a hospital ward, and Mila only sees the colours of life through the window. No, she doesn't complain, she suffers in silence. We asked her how she would like to spend her day. "I want to wake up and not be in pain," she whispered...

We believe that Milana's story will resonate with you. Cancer cannot be conquered by one person. There is no means to continue the fight. Please save Milana from death!