When my daughter was 6 months old, I noticed a strange glow in her eyes. The eye doctor at our local clinic assured us that everything was fine. Nevertheless, I consulted a private clinic where we found out the terrible news that our daughter had eye cancer. We had to save Lana's eyesight and her very life. They couldn't help us in our hometown and instead referred us to the Helmholtz Eye Institute in Moscow. Our daughter was given intraarterial chemotherapy which supplies medication directly to the tumor through blood vessels. The result of the surgical procedure was terrifying: our little Lana lost her eyesight. To date, nobody has been able to explain what happened. Doctors promised that Lana would recover her eyesight - it was not to be. Our grief had no bounds. Yet we continued battling the cancer. After several courses of chemotherapy, the recommendation was to remove Lana’s right eye because it had started to shrink in size. Instead I decided to consult specialists abroad and we left for New York. A professor at the cancer center said that the tumor was no longer growing and that the blindness could be related to the damage incurred by the left eye during surgery. We now had hope that after optic nerve stimulation, Lana would at least partially recover her eyesight. We decided not to remove the right eye, but instead to restore its initial shape by using special injections of fluids. We were also accepted free-of-charge into a rehabilitation program for the visually impaired so that our daughter could learn to live with her condition. We sold our apartment and our car to treat Lana in Moscow. Our friends and family helped raise the money needed for Lana’s medical evaluation in the US. Our whole family – my husband, me and my son Rodion – ask for your help! Ekaterina Mamatkazina, Krasnodar Region.
$53, 800 is needed to save Iolanta Mamatkazina.
2013-04-08
David H. Abramson, Chief, Ophthalmic Oncology Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York): “The girl has two-sided retinoblastoma and complete blindness in both eyes. Iolanta must be constantly supervised by oncologists-ophthalmologists. We will retain her right eye and try to restore partial eyesight in her left eye".
The cost of Nastya 's surgery is $53, 800.
Dear friends! If you want to help Iolanta please don't let the cost stop you. Your donation in any amount will be gratefully accepted. You can contribute to Rusfond USA using PayPal or by sending a check made payable to “Rusfond USA” and mailing it to Rusfond USA, 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 300, New York, NY 10170. Thank you!
Rusfond USA
An American Hospital Will Admit Iolanta Mamatkazina in July
On April 8th here on this site, we told the story of Iolanta Mamatkazina, a eighteen months old, from Krasnodar Region. Iolanta has malignant tumor of both eyes, retinoblastoma, complete loss of sight. She needs to undergo treatment and a special rehabilitation program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York). The cost of the treatment is $53,800. But the Mamatkazin family doesn’t have anywhere near this amount of money. We are happy to announce that the Russian Aid Foundation has stepped in to help and all the necessary funds have been raised. Iolanta will be admitted to the hospital on July 17th. Iolanta’s family thanks everyone who has helped. Dear friends, please accept our gratitude as well.