Former RDB soloist Izabela Sokolowska, the mother of a 9-month old boy, has been fighting cancer. It started in her lumbar spine (Giant Cell Tumour) and has metastasised to her lungs. She has gone through two surgeries, chemo and radiation in Denmark, but none of the treatments has been successful.

A group has now been started to help raise funds to send her to Guangzhou, China where gene therapy & cryotherapy treatments have apparently helped other cancer patients.
You can read about her story and donate here: www.saveizabela.com or join the Save Izabela group on Facebook.

Kate

How tragic.

And how horrible that she must go to China for treatment. I wouldn't trust them to treat my plants.

China is not the only place to offer such treatments, but they are generally only offered via clinical trials elsewhere. This is in part due to the fact that China's medical/drug approval process is much faster - for good and for bad. And the hospital facilities in the high tech medical centres, which tend to cater to foreigners and upper class Chinese citizens, can be equal to anything in the US.

I would have reservations about going to China, but having more to do with the risks of long air travel/exposure to different set of water or foodborne microbes with a compromised immune system, and the difficulty/expense of a return trip if one's health takes a downward turn.

Cryotherapy and gene therapy have shown some success in treating certain types of tumours, though - I believe - only in the short term. And I don't think there have been any large or long-term enough trials to prove effectiveness statistically. But, I can't imagine cryo-therapy or gene therapy are any more risky that surgery, chemo or radiation.

That said, I believe Izabela has exhausted the regularly available options in Europe, and she has chosen to seek treatment abroad. Given the youth of her son, every extra month she can get out of life is a treasure, and as long as she's getting accurate, balanced information about her treatment options, I see no harm in trying a new treatment.

Kate