A “miracle” eight-year-old has baffled doctors after his terminal cancer is now TREATABLE — in what is being dubbed a ‘one in seven billion’ case.
Little Julian Malankowska’s family say they have been given renewed hope after “accepting he was going to die” following unsuccessful treatment.
The brave youngster was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in 2011 — a form of cancer in the white blood cells which crippled his body.
He managed to beat the deadly disease three times following several rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant from a donor in the USA.
But the cancer returned for a fourth time in June 2017 and family say their world “fell apart” after being told Julian would not make it past Christmas.
Julian didn’t receive any treatment because there was no medical option for him anymore and family described giving up “for a second” following the latest diagnosis.
However, the youngster’s blood results slowly began improving so doctors decided to perform a bone marrow aspiration to check why a terminal patient with progressive Leukeamia was getting better.
Tests showed Julian had “rising platelets” and his parents say they were told the cancer levels in his bone marrow had dropped by almost half.
Stunned doctors now say Julian’s condition has transformed into acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a treatable form of the cancer.
The youngster’s relieved mother Aneta Malankowska, 30, from Blackburn, Lancs., has been told Julian’s situation was the first of its kind.
Aneta is convinced a special diet, including milk thistle, alkaline water and fresh juices has contributed towards the improvement in Julian’s condition.
She said: “We couldn’t believe it, we had been told for months we had to prepare for the worst and prepare for Julian to die.
“I had to try and tell his four-year-old brother Leon what was going on, they both kept asking what heaven was, it’s been so hard.
“He’s been battling with the disease since he was two, he’s had bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy, everything to try and make him better but nothing worked.
“It was shocking, we had gone from accepting he was going to die to be told his cancer was treatable.”
Julian was first diagnosed with leukaemia in 2011 when he was two years old.
He spent about a year in hospital undergoing chemotherapy before being allowed home for maintenance treatment and eventually being given the all-clear.
The family was told the Intack Primary School pupil had relapsed.
He was given more chemotherapy and medics took a DNA sample from Julian’s brother Leon, three, to see if he could help with a bone marrow transplant but unfortunately he was not a match.
Eventually, a donor was found and he had a transplant around Christmas 2014.
However, tragedy struck again in September 2016 when he was rushed into hospital with a nosebleed.
Julian was transferred to Manchester Children’s Hospital and his family were told as the bone marrow transplant had failed the first time it was unlikely it would work again.
Mrs Malankowska started researching on the internet and found a treatment called Car T Cells immunotherapy which had been trialled on a young girl in the USA.
Julian qualified for a trial in the UK and was the first child to have the treatment in Manchester which again seemed to have worked.
However, he relapsed again in June 2017 but Julian didn’t receive any treatment because there is no medical option for him anymore.
The family tried combining a special diet, supplements and unconventional cancer treatments which they say has contributed to an improvement in Julian’s condition.
Julian is currently staying at Manchester Children’s Hospital while he is undergoing a round of chemotherapy, which if it works, would give him a chance to try a bone marrow transplant and could leave him in remission.
Aneta said: “We are sure that without all of those natural treatments and supplements Julian wouldn’t be with us.”
She added: “He’s been very, very sad while going through all of this as you can imagine.
“He’s not been like a normal eight-year-old, he has periods when he rarely speaks to anyone and I’m thinking of getting him some sort of therapy to help him.
“He once said to me he ‘wanted to die’ because he was sick of being inside a hospital for so long.
“I have to explain to him that everything will be fine, he finally said to me the other day he trusted me and he believes that now.
“We just have to stay positive. I have to stay positive for him and for my family.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with logistical costs. To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/help-me-survive-terminal-diagnosis
