Childhood Cancer Day: Brave girl, 2, in remission after aggressive chemotherapy

Parents are hopeful that Sancia Tauro can beat the disease and lead a normal life

Sancia Tauro, a two year old girl who is beating cancer. Ruel Pableo for The National

Sancia Tauro, 2, had cancer diagnosed when she was only seven months old.

After about two years of aggressive chemotherapy, she is almost 3 and in remission.

On International Childhood Cancer Day, February 15, her mother’s message to other parents is to never give up.

We are still scared and very careful not to go out. But we do hope that after her treatment she will go to school like other children and have a normal life

Roshni D'souza

Sancia had acute lymphocytic leukaemia, or ALL, which accounts for 80 per cent of all leukaemia in children.

There are two main types of childhood leukaemia, ALL and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The latter type accounts for about 20 per cent of cases.

When doctors first told Sancia's parents that she had ALL, they were shaken.

"I had never heard of infantile leukaemia and no one in my husband’s or my family has it,” says her mother, Roshni Dsouza, from India .

Sancia is her only child.

Sancia with mum Roshni and dad Sharath

Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood. It is the most common form of cancer in childhood and affects mostly those aged between 2 and 8.

Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents around the world, figures compiled by the Pan American Health Organisation and World Health Organisation show.

Each year, more than 400,000 children have cancer diagnosed globally.

It is estimated that cancer was the cause of death of 8,544 children aged below 15 in 2020.

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in children under 15, after accidents.

Sancia is one of the few who have survived cancer but the journey has been hard, says her mother.

“Watching her lose her hair, vomiting and in pain because of the medication was very hard,” she says.

There were also the mood swings, where Sancia cried for days on end.

“People fighting against cancer are the real fighters and, as parents, it is very hard to see your child go through this but you should never lose hope,” Ms Dsouza says.

“When we were first told about our daughter’s illness, we were scared. We were physically and mentally upset but, with determination and courage, we managed to go through this crisis.”

Sancia was treated at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi. She has finished her chemotherapy and is now only on antibiotics.

It will still be a while before she can lead a normal life but her parents are hopeful.

“We are still scared and very careful not to go out. But we do hope that after her treatment she will go to school like other children and have a normal life,” Ms Dsouza says.

"We are indebted to her doctors and the medical team at SKMC for saving our daughter's life”.