“Cancer took away years of Artem’s childhood, but Kids Cancer Care is helping him discover that childhood again. And perhaps, at the same time, it is helping me, his mother, discover life again, too,” – says Mariia, Artem’s mom.
When Artem was two and a half years old, his mother, Mariia, had occasionally noticed that he walked with his legs slightly farther apart than usual. She never thought it was anything serious. She simply saw it as one of his little quirks, his own unique way of walking. Artem was a happy and energetic little boy, always curious about the world around him and fascinated by every living thing he encountered.
Then, one evening, Mariia met Artem and his father by the lake and noticed that his head was tilted slightly to one side, more than usual. At first, she wondered if he had been exposed to the wind at the lake. But as the evening went on, his head remained tilted, and she began to feel that something wasn’t right.
Mariia was a dermatologist and had spent practically her entire professional life working in hospitals. Artem had grown up around hospitals, surrounded by doctors and nurses who adored him. She knew that sometimes small changes could mean something more, so she decided to have him examined.
An MRI revealed a tumour in his brain.
Within 24 hours, Artem and his parents were on their way to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. The operation went well, and doctors were able to remove the entire tumour. But weeks later, the family received the news that would change their lives forever: Artem had stage 4 atypical AT/RT – teratoid/rhabdoid tumour, a rare and aggressive form of childhood brain cancer.
There was no treatment available for him in Ukraine.
Mariia didn’t have time to process what was happening. She didn’t have time to think about her career, her home, her future or what life would look like from that point forward.
She had one thought. She had to save her son.
“I had to find a clinic and a doctor somewhere in the world who could save Artem,” Mariia says. “I didn’t care where it would be. I wasn’t thinking about how far we would have to travel or how much it would cost. I simply knew that I had to find someone who could save him.”
Within weeks, she found a clinic that could treat Artem. And for the next three years, their lives revolved around treatment.
Artem endured chemotherapy, radiation, three bone marrow transplants and multiple surgeries. At one point, the tumour returned, and he needed another brain surgery. He lost his ability to walk and had to work through intensive rehabilitation to regain control of his body.
But there was another loss that was harder to see. While other children were learning to make friends, going to kindergarten, playing on playgrounds and discovering the world around them, Artem was growing up in hospitals.
His childhood was shaped by treatment schedules, procedures, isolation and recovery.
For almost three years, the world outside the hospital continued without him.
Then, finally, came the words his family was waiting for. Artem was cancer-free.
But surviving cancer was not the end of Artem’s journey. It was the beginning of another one.
After treatment, Artem and his family moved to Canada. Artem had survived a devastating childhood cancer, but he was still trying to figure out how to live in a world beyond hospitals.
He had difficulty with balance and coordination because of where the tumour had been located in his brain. He had spent much of his childhood isolated from other children. He had barely experienced ordinary social situations. He struggled to trust people, and separating from his mother was incredibly difficult.
For Mariia, the transition was just as overwhelming.
For years, she had been Artem’s protector, advocate and constant companion. She had fought for his treatment, raised money, contacted doctors and foundations around the world, and made decisions that no parent should ever have to make.
Now she was in a new country, trying to help her son build a life after cancer. She didn’t know where to begin.
Then, about a year after arriving in Canada, Artem’s oncologist told her about Kids Cancer Care.
That introduction became a turning point for their family.
Artem began participating in the PEER exercise Program, where he could work on his physical abilities while also beginning to reconnect with other children.
Artem started smiling when he arrived for PEER. He began building relationships with members of the Kids Cancer Care team. After everything he had experienced, he was beginning to open himself back up to the world.
Mariia remembers one moment especially clearly.
It happened at Kids Cancer Care’s Polar Express Christmas celebration. Artem was surrounded by families, staff and children when he suddenly spotted Sandra, Education Support Specialist at Kids Cancer Care, one of the people he had come to trust.
He ran straight toward her and hugged her. “For me, it was a very powerful moment,” Mariia says. “I wasn’t simply watching a child hug someone. I was watching a child who, after everything he had been through, was beginning to trust people again.”
That trust would become incredibly important as Artem took his next step: returning to school.
Mariia knew that sending Artem to school would be about so much more than getting him through the classroom door. After everything he had endured, he was entering a world he had never experienced before. He had missed the early years when children learn how to sit in a classroom, make friends, follow routines, separate from their parents and begin to feel confident on their own. Artem was also navigating physical changes from treatment, anxiety, learning a new language and the challenge of finding his place among other children. Mariia worried that his differences would make him feel like he did not belong.
Sandra walked alongside Mariia through the complicated process of preparing Artem for school, connecting with his teachers and school representatives, helping communicate his needs and advocating for the supports that would give him a real chance to succeed. Together, they worked to make sure Artem’s return to school was not simply about finding him a seat in a classroom, but about helping him feel safe, understood and, most importantly, that he belonged. After years of cancer taking so much of Artem’s childhood, going back to school became a powerful step toward getting some of it back.
“Cancer changes things, and for children like Artem, the effects can continue long after treatment ends. When he was ready to start school, he was facing challenges far beyond academics. He had missed many of the early experiences that help children feel confident in a classroom, build friendships and learn to be independent. He was also navigating anxiety, physical changes from treatment and learning in a new language.
My role was to come alongside Mariia and help her navigate a school system that was unfamiliar and overwhelming. Together, we connected with the right professionals, prepared for school meetings and helped communicate Artem’s needs so he could have the support he deserved. What stood out to me most was Mariia’s determination. She knew her son better than anyone and was his strongest advocate. Every child who has faced cancer deserves the opportunity to learn, belong and thrive, and Artem’s journey is a beautiful reminder of what is possible when a family has someone walking beside them.”, says Sandra.
One of the most meaningful parts of that transition came through Kids Cancer Care’s Cancer in the Classroom program.
Artem’s mother knew that his classmates might have questions about the way he looks, moves or communicates. She also knew that Artem could not always explain his experience himself, especially in a language he was still learning.
So Sandra and Suzanne, Family Engagement Coordinator at Kids Cancer Care, came into his classroom and helped his classmates understand Artem.
Mariia remembers seeing the pride on her son’s face as he welcomed the Kids Cancer Care team into his classroom.
“I could see wings almost growing behind his back,” she says.
For a child who had spent so much of his life feeling different, there was something incredibly powerful about watching the people who understood him help others understand him too.
He didn’t have to hide his differences or explain his cancer.
Instead, he could simply be Artem.
This summer (2026), Artem attended Camp SunRise, giving him the chance to experience the simple joys of childhood that cancer had interrupted. By taking part in camp activities, he was able to play, explore and make memories alongside other kids. For Artem, these experiences are more than summer fun. They are important steps toward building the confidence, independence and sense of belonging he needs as he takes the big step of returning to school.
That is what Mariia says Kids Cancer Care has given their family. “When I came to Canada, I felt as though my entire life had been taken out of me,” Mariia says. “I was lost in this enormous world. Beside me was a completely healthy child who had beaten cancer, but I myself had become just a shadow of who I was. Kids Cancer Care lifted us from our knees at the exact moment when we were already completely weakened and exhausted.”
That is why your support matters so deeply to families like Artem’s. Because cancer doesn’t end when treatment ends. After years of fighting simply to survive, families need someone to remind them that there is a life waiting for them on the other side.
For Artem, that life is beginning in a classroom.
Because of you, Artem is getting that opportunity. He is beginning to experience something that cancer took away from him for years.
Because of you, Artem can look beyond cancer and toward a future filled with possibility.
Because of you, children like Artem return to school, reconnect with their peers, rebuild confidence and find their place in the world after cancer.
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