Luke suffered a serious illness after the trip: the first sign was severe pain in his legs

The boy recalls that he felt the first symptoms of the disease after returning from a short study trip to Tallinn.

“In May 2019, I started to have pain in the thigh of my right leg. I was taking painkillers, but the unpleasant sensations recurred every few weeks, ”says Lukas.

Unhappy with the constant debilitating pain, in June, Luke decided to seek help from the doctors who diagnosed him with Ewing’s sarcoma.

According to the chemotherapist oncologist at the Kaunas University Oncology and Hematology Clinic, hematologist Domas Vaitiekus, Ewing’s sarcoma is a rare and aggressive connective tissue cancer that occurs most often in children and young adults.

“It is the second most common bone tumor, but it is rarely diagnosed in Lithuania and around the world. According to the population of our country, around three patients a year could become ill.”

The disease is characterized by common but clinically non-clinical micro-metastases that are detected in almost all patients, even in the early form of the disease. The treatment of these sarcomas must be multifaceted: local treatment (surgery and / or radiotherapy) to destroy the original tumor and chemotherapy to control the systemic spread of the disease.

“Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or bone marrow transplantation, is very important in the early stages of the disease. It provides high-dose chemotherapy that helps ensure systemic control of the disease and improves survival in patients without macro-metastasis. It is important that these patients are treated in large experienced centers, where all the necessary treatment methods can be applied, because the treatment is complex and complicated ”, says D. Vaitiekus.

At the Kaunas clinics, Luke received for the first time nine cycles of chemotherapy, which lasted from June to November.

“During chemotherapy, he had nausea, it was difficult for him to eat, his blood parameters dropped, he was short of breath and it was difficult to do physical activity,” the boy recalled. “On the other hand, after the first course, I felt much better, because the pain disappeared completely, the numbness of the skin also began to decrease, I was able to sit and lie on my back without restrictions.”

After chemotherapy, the man was able to breathe easier because tests showed that the treatment had worked – the tumor shrunk. Due to the location of the tumor, radical surgery was not possible, so Luke received radiation therapy, which was planned and performed by the head of the Department of Radiotherapy, radiation oncologist Dr. Laimonas Jaruševičius.

According to the boy, she didn’t feel any side effects during it, so it was like a short vacation after intense chemotherapy.

Later, due to the high risk of relapse, Luke was recommended for an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

“In March, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, I underwent an autogenous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The first days after the transplant were difficult: high fever, tremors, muscle spasms, ”said Lukas.

“Lukas endured the entire treatment, which lasted eleven months in total, with courage and patience, he did not complain much, he was always full of determination and hope to recover – during treatment he read textbooks and made plans for the future. We saw him faithfully supported by family and friends. The fact that he sincerely followed the doctors’ instructions and cooperated with us certainly helped Lukas achieve remission, ”said Resident Doctor Lina Simaškaitė.

The boy is happy that after a long treatment, life has finally returned to normal and he can continue his studies at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. “I am grateful to all the staff of the Kaunas Clinic Oncology and Hematology Clinic, doctor Domas Vaitiekas, resident doctors Lina Simaškaite and everyone else who helped overcome this disease,” Lukas said without saying nice words.

The boy is in excellent condition at the moment and there are no more complaints, he has returned to a normal and full life. “Every three months we carry out control tests in the Kaunas clinics. The last investigation conducted in 2020. December, showed no recurrence of the disease. The highest probability of disease recurrence is in the first two years after completion of treatment, but we tried and hope that Luke’s case will be an example of a successful story, ”says Lina Simaškaitė, resident physician at the Clinic of Oncology and Hematology of the Kaunas Clinics.