This is Nicolas Spano. He is 11 years old.
On February 7th 2008 he was diagnosed with Hepato-Cellular Carcinoma (HCC). HCC is a very rare disease (1.5 in 1,000.000 cases in children under 15 years of age) in which cancer cells develop in the tissue of the liver and form a tumor.
Scans and examinations also revealed that the cancer had spread to one of the lungs. Chemotherapy has been administered to Nicolas for the last 8 months to help shrink the size of the tumors in the lung and the liver. But it has become apparent that only a liver transplant can save his life. Unfortunately Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto decided that Nicolas is not a candidate for an ordinary liver transplant, as the cancer has already spread to the lungs. Nicolas is considered a stage 4 cancer patient.
The family desperately started to look for other options and was brought into contact with a surgeon at Columbia University in New York City. He is proposing a unique double procedure that has never been performed before: a liver transplant as well as a bonemarrow/stem-cell transplant. For Nicolas and his family this is the most hopeful option. The operation is scheduled for November. One of his parents will be the living donor, and it is expected that Nicolas will be kept in hospital in NYC for several months. Because of the unprecedented nature of this procedure, OHIP have declined to finance Nicolas’ operation.
Nicolas’ parents are Kathrin von Dehn and Sebastian Spano. They have four children: Sophie (16), Nicolas (11), Sasha (9) and Isabella (1). They have lived in the Glebe since July 2002. Nicolas is a sensitive, caring boy who loves animals, little kids, reading and politics. He likes cars and driving…. but only golf carts for now! He loves attending hockey games and collects hockey cards. He eschews the traditional clothing of an adolescent boy and prefers to deconstruct clothes, and wears fedora hats.
Throughout his illness he has shown amazing strength and courage.
On behalf of Nicolas and his family, Thank you for caring.
