Cristóbal Rojas, sports journalist from Channel 13, spoke with The latest news and referred to the complex situation faced by his son Santino, who is only two years old. Specifically, the little one is fighting a strange disease called high-risk neuroblastoma.
“It is very rare, in the United States there are about 800 cases annually. The treatment costs about $600,000,000 and must be paid in advance. It is largely paid for, but now we are going to Pennsylvania, United States, for a clinical trial to maintain it with some experimental remedies. “There are four pills for two years, which somehow keep the disease under control,” he said from Spain.
Rojas recalled how Santino’s disease was detected. “They did an ultrasound and a 13-centimeter mass appeared on the body of a one-year-old and four-month-old baby. “My wadding was about to burst,” he said.
“There began the story of eight months of hospitalization, chemotherapy and a diagnosis that at first was wrong. They told us it was a common tumor, Wilms tumor, but chemotherapies had no effect. They didn’t know what he had and the tumor was so vascularized that they couldn’t send it for a biopsy, because wherever they punctured it would be muddy. Then they switched him to a more generic, but very aggressive chemotherapy to reduce it. There they were able to remove it and the biopsy showed the high-risk neuroblastoma,” she explained.
Cristóbal and his family have had to manage to cover the costs of treatment. “We have done everything from bingos, raffles, garage sales, as well as support from people and companies, like Luksic. Channel 13 has behaved badly, as has Villa María, my wife’s school. We estimate that we are missing about $100,000,000, between what we have left to pay and the trip to the United States. “I want to give the best I can to Santino and that’s why we need this last little push to help me end this nightmare,” he explained.
“Now (Santino) is perfect, but when the topic of chemo started I was afraid that he would lose his hair because on the street they would see him looking like he was going to die. Over time the drama was lost, but when I look at the photos of Santino peladito I say ‘how did I get by there?’” he added.
Finally, Cristóbal Rojas pointed out that “my message is for the people who are going through it: listen to the advice and look for options. You have to lose the fear of asking for help. I had never asked for gum and I had to go out and ask for money on TV: help me or my son will die. You have to have the humility to ask for help and the arrogance to say this disease is not going to beat me. I know that I will never live in peace again, it is a fact, but I know that he is receiving the best treatment that science makes available.”
