Dear Dr. Eric Bouffet and Dr. Jonathan Finlay,
I hope this letter finds you both in good health and high spirits. My name is Rafi, and I had the privilege of meeting both of you during our consultations. I want to express my deepest gratitude for the exceptional care and support you have provided to me and my family.
During our time together, both of you have shown exceptional dedication and commitment to my daughter Rachel's well-being. Dr. Bouffet, I would like to extend a special note of thanks to you for your involvement in securing the test medication that Rachel needs.
The expertise and compassion that you both demonstrated during our meetings were truly remarkable. Your willingness to listen to our concerns and address them with care and understanding has made a significant impact on our journey. Dr. Bouffet, your collaboration with the neuro-oncologists here in Israel, keeping them informed about Rachel's cancer status, has been of great comfort to us.
Not only did you provide exceptional medical care, but you also created a supportive environment where we felt heard, valued, and empowered. Your guidance and reassurance have given us hope and strength during this challenging time.
The support and opportunities we have received through your involvement and advocacy have made a tremendous difference in Rachel's treatment journey.
Words cannot adequately express the depth of gratitude we feel toward both of you. The impact you have had on Rachel's physical and emotional well-being is immeasurable. As we continue on this path toward her recovery, we will forever carry with us the memories of your unwavering support and outstanding care.
Thank you once again for everything you have done for our family. May you both be blessed with continued wisdom, strength, and good health as you carry out your noble mission to heal and help children like Rachel. With warm regards and profound gratitude,
- Rafi and Chaya (July 2023)
Dear Oded,
I would like to thank “MyChildsCancer” for encouraging me to become more active about my illness, for exposing me to all kinds of useful medical information out there, and for filming my story thus helping me learn more about my disease and helping others learn from me.
I think it is extremely important for patients to share this kind of information, especially in rare cancers, so that other people can learn from their experience. Since doctors haven’t seen too many people with a similar condition, they sometimes lack the much-needed experience and often just don’t know what to do.
By sharing our stories people can get medical information from sources other than their doctors.
I wish I could have seen this kind of video when I first got diagnosed: it would have taken off a lot of the pressure and maybe it would have helped me make a better decision regarding my treatment.
When we get sick with a rare cancer, we become an expert on our own illness, working so hard to get this knowledge. It is just a waste keeping this information to ourselves. That is why this project is so significant.
Thank you for making me think differently about my illness and for helping me take a more active and powerful position in my battle against cancer.
— Daniela Tendler (December 2013)
Dear Oded,
When we just arrived in NYC we were still under the shock of the cancer diagnosis. We were loaded with too much information, a ton of administrative chores and we had to make complicated and crucial decisions.
In a situation such as this, other parent’s experience is just priceless.
We met you when we were in a delicate and an unstable situation, surrounded by uncertainty. You helped us get things in order, prioritize our needs and build a clear and simple work plan: a good initial plan which was a crucial key for a good management of the situation.
Starting with the numerous administrative action-items such as financial issues, insurance, various required authorizations, where to live and where to put the kids in school, and of course finding the best doctor and getting a second and even a third opinion and doing all that while learning everything possible on the specific cancer you are fighting in order to be able to make the right decisions in every step of the way.
Oded, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, that you have come to us like an angel from the sky and helped us find the light in the total chaos in which we were. You helped us get on the right track to a full recovery.
With love,
— The Shtater family (January 2013)
“The fact that we had somebody to reach out to when we were in NJ, was so important and made all the difference for us.”
- Shalev family