Family of 9-year-old boy with cancer fights for treatment in US: ‘As long as I have a 1% chance, I’m 100% confident’ | Goyas
3 min read
The family of 9-year-old Jean Lucas Paes Leme Jubé is fighting to get treatment for the boy in the United States. He has Burkitt’s lymphoma, a cancer considered aggressive, and doctors said the necessary treatment, called CAR-T cell, was not possible in Brazil.
The father, Silvio Urrico Pius Lemes Jr., says they are racing against time to get treatment and get the money they need before the tumor spreads further.
“As long as I have a 1% chance, I’m 100% confident,” he said.
“There’s still time, we need Gene Lucas!” An online campaign was created under the name And some celebrities were touched by the story. The goal is to get R$ 2 million.
Jean Lucas Pius Lem Jube during cancer treatment – Photo: Silvio Jr./Personal Archives
Jean Lucas Paes Leme Jubé with his parents and brother — Photo: Silvio Junior/Personal Archive
On March 21 this year, Jean became unwell, vomiting and having stomach pains. Went to a hospital Goyania, he was hospitalized. He underwent a series of tests and a biopsy. Two days later, cancer was confirmed. The disease spread through the intestines, spleen and bladder.
However, the family did not know exactly what type of tumor he had. They traveled to Barretos, in the interior of São Paulo, in search of a referral hospital to continue the diagnosis.
He was admitted to the unit on March 28 and underwent a biopsy and a new operation to remove stool from the bowel and place a colostomy bag. After this surgery, the type of cancer was confirmed.
“Doctors said that cancer is the number of cells that doubles every 24 hours. He spent 56 days in the hospital, 30 of which were in the ICU. He started chemotherapy while in the ICU,” said his father.
Jean Lucas Paes Leme Jubé with his parents and brother — Photo: Silvio Junior/Personal Archive
Since then, Jean has had five sessions of regular chemotherapy. As the tumor did not shrink, two more rounds of chemotherapy, known as rescue, were performed. Silvio explained that his son’s cancer stopped growing for a while, but it was not eradicated.
“She can’t do more chemotherapy because her toxicity will start to destroy other organs. And the doctors have said it will take another 30 days for the cancer to grow back.
Doctors recommended the family Car-T cell therapy, considered the most advanced treatment in the fight against cancer. The process modifies the patient’s immune cells in the lab so they learn to fight off the disease. Then, they are replaced in the body and fight the tumor naturally.
This type of treatment is in its early stages in the country, which does not guarantee the speed required for Jean’s recovery.
Jean Lucas Pius Lem Jupe wins a shirt from former player Falco — Photo: Silvio Jr./Personal Archives
Silvio estimates that his son will need R$ 2 million for treatment in the United States. Doctors estimate that he will need follow-up till age 16.
“We’ve put our car up for sale, our apartment. We’re doing online crowdfunding and one person donated his motorcycle to the raffle,” said the father.
Some celebrities also joined the campaign. Both George and Mathias recorded a video asking the family for help. Former futsal player Falco sent Jean an autographed shirt. Other celebrities have also recorded videos and pledged to send gifts that can be auctioned off so the family can get the money they need.
“I hope one day I can repay this favor”, added Silvio.
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