Toronto’s SickKids welcomes 2 Ukrainian children with cancer for treatment
Posted March 15, 2022 9:24 am.
Last Updated March 16, 2022 8:29 pm.
Toronto’s SickKids hospital says two pediatric cancer patients forced to flee Ukraine after Russia invaded the country have arrived for treatment.
A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed they arrived safely in Toronto on Wednesday, adding while they understand the large interest in the children and their families, they have requested privacy.
The hospital’s CEO, Dr. Ronald Cohn said Tuesday SickKids can accept more children, though it’s unclear if more will arrive in the next week. SickKids has reached out to other children’s hospitals in Canada to get pediatric cancer patients treated as soon as possible.
“This has been one of the worst humanitarian crises we have seen in our lifetime and SickKids is ready to care for Ukrainian pediatric patients where appropriate and within our existing capacity,” Cohn said during a news conference.
Dr. Sarah Alexander, an oncologist at SickKids, said the hospital will reassess where the two children are in their cancer treatments, which were interrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and then do their best to provide them with care.
“I think each diagnosis, each kids’ prior therapy, where they are in this course of therapy, we’ll need to … sort through,” she said.
In a statement released Monday night, the hospital said they have been preparing for the possibility of accepting Ukrainian children and their families for several days.
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“Toronto has a strong and compassionate Ukrainian community, and SickKids has long-standing partnerships with Ukrainian children’s hospitals that enable us to support urgent children’s health-care needs in Ukraine,” reads the statement.
“While the priority at SickKids is meeting the needs of children in Ontario and Canada, we acknowledge that there is a moral responsibility to provide care to vulnerable children from abroad when we have capacity.”
Cohn said SickKids will take a “multidisciplinary approach” to care for the Ukrainian children, which will include support from social workers and other specialists within the hospital to address the various needs of the patients.
More than three million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began more than two weeks ago — this includes many children who have been forced to leave hospitals. Many refugees were evacuated to Poland to resume treatment or be relocated elsewhere.
The U.K. and Spain also announced over the weekend that more than 20 Ukrainian children and families were being welcomed to cancer wards in those countries.
With files from The Canadian Press
